Hidden in Plain Sight
by Fatal Melody
Summary: Now 15, the twins are back three years after their first summer in Gravity Falls. But thing's aren't quite the same as they were three years ago. Dipper has a secret, and now must face her fears as she reveals to her friends who she really is. Fem!Dipper, and eventual Dipifica. Rated T for certain situations later in the story.
1. Return to the Falls

Hidden in Plain Sight

**A/N:** Hello again, everyone!

Recently I re-watched some of my favorite episodes of Gravity Falls, and wondered what would've happened if certain things were changed or revealed after the end of the show. Here is the product I came up with.

Female Dipper, by the way.

Disclaimer: Gravity falls is owned by Disney and Alex Hirsch.

* * *

Chapter 1: Return to the Falls

* * *

_7:36 AM, somewhere south of Gravity Falls, Oregon. June 16th, three years after Weirdmageddon._

Mabel stared out from the window of the Speedy Beaver bus she was riding. In the distance, two very familiar cliffs were cresting the horizon. The 15-year old's face lit up with recognition and excitement, a feeling of coming home washing over her.

"You ready?" she asked her seat-mate, another girl of similar height and with the same shade of shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair. This girl was wearing a well-worn bomber-hat, a blue plaid overshirt, and a bright orange short-sleeved shirt underneath. Gripped in her hands was a leather-bound journal with a metallic blue pine tree on it with the number 1 printed in black ink.

"I-I don't know Mabel…" the girl said, unsure of herself, drawing her arms and the book closer to her chest. "What if they don't accept it? What if they all think I'm a freak for hiding it from them for an entire summer and not coming clean?"

"Pfffft, _that's_ what you're worried about?! Everyone is practically family here, Mads! Saving an entire town from an interdimensional triangle demon doesn't just go away!" Mabel countered to her twin.

Madison Pines (*1), better known by locals as Dipper, drew into herself even further. A lack of confidence was emanating from her in an aura. Mabel was beginning to get bummed out by her twin's self-doubt, and body checked Madison to break the tension.

"Ah- hey!" Madison protested, giggling softly as she shoulder-checked her sister back. Soon the two were laughing fully as they were playfully shoving each other in the back of the Speedy Beaver.

"Hey! No horseplay on the bus!" the driver said seriously, looking in the rear-view mirror at the two twins.

The two Pines girls calmed down, and Madison wore a genuine smile across her face.

"Yeah, maybe this won't be so bad…" Madison said, looking out the window at the water tower. "Hey look, that dumb muffin is still there!" she said to her sister, pointing past her face at the tower. "Think Robbie's lived that down yet?" she chuckled.

"Probably not!" Mabel laughed.

The two twins had grown since their summer here 3 years ago. Mabel no longer had her braces, and her baby-fat cheeks had slimmed down into an attractive face. Her hips had widened and her waist had gotten thinner as a result of her active (sometimes a bit _too_ active, if you ask Madison) lifestyle.

Madison, however, went from a slightly boyish figure to a well-toned yet still thin figure. Her arms were no longer stick-thin, rather they were now athletic and well defined. Her legs were similar, and her hips were wider, but not as much as Mabel's. Her waist was thinner than her hips, but again not to the same degree as Mabel.

As the bus neared the familiar stop, Madison once again became nervous.

"A-are you sure they'll accept me?" she asked again.

"Maddie, you're _fiiiiiine_! We know that Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford are gonna be fine with it, and Soos basically doesn't judge anyone for anything." Mabel comforted her twin, putting an arm around her nerdy sister's shoulders.

The bus stopped. Madison took a deep breath and stood up. Steeling her fears, she started walking forward, following her twin sister to the Mystery Shack.

Mabel opened the door, slamming it as she announced her presence to the

"Hey!" Mabel yelled at her friends, receiving a 4-person group hug consisting of Grenda, Candy, Wendy, and Pacifica.

After the group hug disbanded, Wendy asked the obvious question.

"Hey, where's Dip?" the redhead asked, looking around.

Madison stepped into the Shack.

"H-hey…" she said, not looking anyone in the face.

"Mabel, I know you like making friends on the road, but who the hell is that?" Stan asked, pointing at Madison.

Madison looked down in shame.

"Grunkle Stan, do you really not recognize those eyes? Those shoes? That _hat?!_" Mabel asked, getting more excited each time.

Wendy looked at the bomber-hat.

"Wait a sec…" Wendy said, moving closer, hand on her chin. She looked Madison over for a few seconds, taking in her facial features, causing Madison to blush slightly. Wendy suddenly backed up, her eyes widening.

"Holy axe in a tree trunk! Dipper?!" Wendy asked loudly.

"DING DING DING! Correctamundo, Wendy!" Mabel yelled while jumping onto Wendy's back. "Everyone, I'd like you to _officially_ meet Madison Pines, my twin sister!"

The following seconds were mass-chaos.

_Several minutes later_

"So, you were a girl the _ENTIRE_ time?!" Wendy asked, unbelieving.

"Y-yeah. Sorry you guys had to find out this way…" Madison said, scratching her neck.

"No probs, dude!" Soos said, patting her back roughly. "Though, I guess this means we aren't the Pterodactyl Bros nomore…" Soos said sadly.

"It's alright, you'll always be a Dino Bro to me, Soos." Madison said, giving the large man a hug.

Soos returns the hug. "Thanks, Dino Sis!" Soos says, letting go of the hug.

The room calmed down a bit, until Wendy spoke up again.

"So, why didja hide from us, Dip?" the lumberjack asked. Madison looked down slightly, her smile getting a little smaller.

"Yes Dipper, why _did_ you hide from us?" Candy asked as well.

"Well… you all assumed I was a boy, and you all seemed so supportive of me as a guy. I didn't want to change anything…" she said, slowly getting a touch sad.

"Are you kidding me? Dip, guy or girl you're still our friend!" Wendy said, putting her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "We can still call ya Dip, right?" the redhead asked cautiously.

"Eh. Dipper, Dip, Mads, Maddie, anything works really." Madison said.

"Wait, Grunkle Stan, why aren't you freaking out like everyone else?" Mabel asked.

"I had my suspicions." Stan answered quickly.

"You… you what?!" Madison asked.

"Yeah. I knew the whole time. Squeaky voice, thick hair, and you always gave off a fruity smell after showers, it was pretty obvious to me." Stan started. "Don't forget, I'm a master conman. I can see through lies like glass."

"Stan, what's going on up… here?" Ford came up from his lab, looking at Madison. "Kids? Oh man, I thought you were getting here tomorrow!" he said as he held his arms open, his two great nieces running in for a hug.

"We missed you, Great Uncle Ford!" Mabel said, releasing the hug along with her twin.

"We missed you too, kids. Now tell me about how Madison got the courage to reveal herself?" he asked.

"You knew too?!" Madison said incredulously.

"Yup! Figured it out when I was captured by that security drone. Turns out it shows me whatever the drone sees from in that ball! I noticed your adrenaline levels lasted an abnormally long time for a 12-year old boy (*2). All I needed to do was call your parents and they gave me the whole story." Ford answered calmly.

"Oh! No wonder you didn't want to join our slumber parties!" Grenda said loudly, snapping her fingers. "You didn't want us finding out!"

Madison nodded with a smile. "Yeah, kinda hard to hide when you're within breathing distance of 3 other girls. Especially while wearing ace wraps…" Madison said, remembering those painful elastic strips with a shudder. "So much chafing…"

The girls shared a laugh as a white van rolled up in the driveway, and several people got out.

"Hey, we heard the twins are back!" called out Nate, followed by Lee and Thompson.

Wendy walked to the front door, waving them in. "Hey guys, they're in here!"

The three boys walked into the Shack, looking around and spotting Mabel.

"What's cookin' Hambone?" Lee offered a fistbump, which the sweater-clad girl returned.

"Hey, where's Dr. Funtimes?" Nate asks the group. The girls split apart slightly to fully reveal Madison.

"H-hey guys…" she waved nervously.

The three were quiet for a second, before Nate and Lee started laughing.

"Great prank, Hambone! But seriously, where's your brother?" Nate tapped Mabel's shoulder with a fist.

The rest of the people in the Shack fell quiet. Thompson poked the two to get their attention.

"Guys, I think that _is_ Dr. Funtimes…" Thompson said quietly.

"Nah, I think we would've noticed if Dipper was a girl." Lee denied. "Right?" he turned to Nate.

Nate was quiet for a second, looking Madison over. "You know what, Lee? I think Thompson's right…" he said calmly after a second.

"What?" Lee asked.

"Just look at her! Orange shirt, that journal, she even has Wendy's old hat!" Nate argued. They started to fight over it.

The two were about to start punching each other, when Madison cleared her throat.

"Perhaps I should explain…" she started. The two nodded at her, releasing each other's shirts. She took a minute to breathe. "Hi, my name is Madison Pines. I'm Mabel's twin sister, but you all know me better as Dipper."

The next several minutes were Madison explaining to Lee and Nate why she hid herself.

"So, let me get this straight. You were hiding from us because we got your gender wrong?" Lee asked.

"Y-yeah, it's pretty stupid when you think about it…" Madison looked away, slightly ashamed.

"Y'know what? We're good to hang anytime you are, Dr. Funtimes!" Nate offered a hi-five. She slapped the offered hand and giggled.

"See, I _told_ you everyone would understand!" Mabel said, slapping her twin on the back.

Madison, recovering from the stumble that Mabel's slap had given her, chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe this summer won't be so bad!" she said hopefully.

"You know what? That reminds me!" Wendy said, walking up to Madison.

Taking off the ratty old blue trucker hat, Wendy puller her old hat off of Madison's head, placing the blue hat back where it truly belonged after ruffling the younger girl's hair. Madison chuckled, readjusting her hat.

_'This won't be so bad at all.' _Madison thought.

* * *

Some footnotes:

*1: Dipper's real name, as confirmed by the Gravity Falls Journal 3 book, is Mason. It's pretty easy to see where I got Madison from.

*2: Adrenaline works in different ways for boys and girls. Boys get a short but large spike at the beginning of a stressful situation, which then peters out slowly. Girls, however, have a longer buildup time, but keep the adrenaline spike for longer.


	2. Things Change, Summer Ends

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 2: "Things Change. Summer Ends".

* * *

Madison slowly opened her eyes. She had already been back in Gravity Falls for a week, and it felt almost as if she had never left. The twins had already started working at the Shack again, keeping inventory and manning the register. Wendy and Madison had even resumed their weekly bad movie night on the weekends.

Madison rubbed the sleep from her eyes, stretching her legs as she sat up in her bed.

"Morning, sis!" Mabel said with cheer as she flopped onto her twin. Madison gave a grunt.

"C-can't… breaaaaathe!" Madison struggled, trying to wriggle her way out from under her sister.

Mabel got off of her twin, giggling. Madison soon joined in the laughter. "C'mon, silly! It's time for breakfast!" the hyper twin said.

Madison hopped out of bed, tagging her sister on the shoulder. "Last one down's a unicorn butt!" she called behind her, hopping onto the stair rail and sliding down. Behind her was an "Aww, not fair!"

Giggling, Madison sat down on a chair at the table. Mabel sat down next to her, giggling with her twin.

"Alright, alright, what's with the happy noises! It's too early for this!" Stan said, walking into the room with a frown.

"Morning, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel said cheerily. Stan ruffled her hair.

"Morning, kid." Stan said with a smile.

Once pancakes were served, Stan sat down with his paper. Mabel and Madison were giggling at Mabel's pancake, which had been bitten into a crude outline of Stan's face with googly eyes.

"Say, you kids up for a family day?" Stan asked slowly.

"Uh, no offense Grunkle Stan, but I'm pretty sure our last "family day" involved your memory getting erased…" Mabel said.

"Aw come on, kids! I promise it'll be better than that fishing trip!" Stan offered.

"I don't see why not." Madison shrugged.

Ford walked into the room. "I heard we're having a family day?" he asked, a smile on his face.

_Two hours later_

Stan, Ford, Mabel, and Madison were in Stan's new convertible, chanting "family day" over and over. As they pulled up to their destination, they all started laughing.

"Man, I never realized how much fun it is having you little gremlins around!" Stan said.

"Aww, Grunkle Stan! That was the sweetest thing you've said to us!" Mabel joked.

"And don't expect anything more than that!" Stan said back, chuckling after.

"So what are we even doing today?" Madison asked.

"Glad you asked, kid! We're going…" Stan started. He pulled out some crossbows and camo jackets. "Hunting!"

"H-hunting" Madison asked nervously. She hated seeing animals get hurt, and large quantities of blood still made her uneasy, especially after some rather graphic nightmares following the Bill Cypher incident.

"But not just any kind of hunting." Ford said. "Mystery hunting." He smiled.

"Really?! You're taking us mystery hunting?!" Madison asked happily, smiling.

Ford nodded, handing each kid a crossbow and a camo jacket. "The jackets are just for show."

"Turns out that magazine is running that picture contest again, so we're gonna take first prize!" Stan said confidently, handing a small bag of disposable cameras to the kids.

Mabel and Madison looked at each other grinning, before starting to chant. "Mon-ster-HUNT! Mon-ster-HUNT!"

As they set out into the forest, a figure watched them from the shadows.

The family walked through the trees, looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

"Anything yet guys?" Madison asked.

"Not yet, Mads!" Mabel responded.

Madison looked at the ground and stopped.

"Hey guys, over here!" she called for her family.

Right in front of her, in the mud, was a giant hoofprint.

"What do you think made this?" Mabel asked. Madison looked around, trying to find any clues. Her eyes settled on a small plastic bag. Picking it up, she turned to her sister.

"I think I have a good idea." She said, turning the bag.

"_James' Jacks Beef Jerky?_" Mabel read.

Madison looked up at the mountain they were at the base of. "I think it's time I said hi to a few old friends." She said with a small smile, tossing the bag back onto the forest floor.

Neither noticed the small note in the bag, which was a summons for Madison.

_Several minutes later_

Madison led her sister up the mountain. Stan and Ford had opted to stay behind, not feeling up to climbing a mountain. As they reached a ledge, Madison turned to her sister.

"Ready?" she asked her twin.

"Ready!" Mabel said with a grin.

Turning to the stone wall, Madison pulled her grow-shrink flashlight from a pocket in her messenger bag. Shining it on one of her hands, it grew to an enormous size. "Stand back, Mabes!" she yelled as she reared back.

Slamming the giant fist into the rock, it crumbled to reveal a cave in the mountain. Shrinking her hand back down to normal, Madison once again found herself face to face with the Man Cave.

"Pubertaur? Pituitar? Beardy?" Madison called out. There was no reply. "Come on, guys, I know you're in here!"

A pair of horns popped up from behind the couch, followed by the face of Chutzpar.

"WOMAAAAAAAAN!" Chutzpar yelled. Soon there was a rumbling noise coming from deeper in the cave.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" screamed the other Manotaurs as they surrounded Madison.

"Human girl, why have you invaded our Man Cave!" Testosteraur asked loudly.

"You really don't recognize me?" Madison smirked. "Not even… this?" she pulled out a disc.

The Manotaurs gasped as they saw the BABBA CD Madison was holding. There was a quiet chatter as they talked amongst themselves.

Several minutes went by, until Chutzpar caught the back end of a breeze. He sniffed the air, memories re-igniting.

"Wait. This smell… I know this scent!" he yelled out. Staring at Madison, his eyes lit up. "DESTRUCTOR! YOU HAVE RETURNED!" he shouted with glee.

"Sup dudes!" Madison called out, holding up her hands.

"But Destructor, why are you not a boy? I remember you being a small boy last time we met!" Beardy asked.

"Well, I've always been a girl. I was pretending to be a boy because everyone else thought I was one, and I didn't want to let them down." She explained.

"I see. Well, at least we know why you smelled of strawberries when you sought our help." Chutzpar said.

Madison chuckled a bit. She looked to her friends and remembered another reason why she came here.

"So how's Multibear?" Madison asked. She received grim looks.

"Multibear is…" Chutzpar started, avoiding eye contact. "Well, it would be better if you saw for yourself." He gestured for Madison to follow. Mabel followed her twin into the Man Cave, having made friends with the multi-headed bear during Weirdmageddon.

Madison was led into a deep room in the Man Cave, further back than she had ever been before.

"After you beat that triangle guy, we made friends with Multibear." Chutzpar explained. "After you left, we started hanging out with him. He's actually a pretty good singer."

Madison nodded. As they got further back, Madison could hear a familiar tune.

"Multibear, you have visitors." Chutzpar said calmly to the bear, who was lying on a bed of some kind.

"Thank you, Chutzpar. I _*cough* _appreciate you leading them to me." Multibear said. Madison could tell that he didn't sound normal. His voice was weak and gravelly. Chutzpar nodded and left the room to give them privacy.

"Multibear?" Madison asked.

"Ah, hello, Mabel." Multibear greeted, confused. "Have we… met before?" he asked, looking at Madison. She pointed to the pine tree on her hat.

"… Dipper?" he asked in realization.

"Hey." Madison waved.

"So, I was right. You weren't a boy after all." Multibear chuckled weakly, a few coughs escaping. Madison nodded.

"It's Madison, by the way." She smiled smiled. "How'd you figure it out?" she asked.

Multibear smiled. "No boy I know would use strawberry shampoo and coconut lotion on their hands." He laughed, causing another bout of coughs.

"Are you… ok?" Madison asked sadly.

"Madison, I am very old. I've been here on this planet for over 700 years. I knew my time was coming, and I am grateful I could stay around long enough to see you once more." He said with resignation. Mabel started to tear up, sniffling.

"B-but you can't go! We just got back!" Mabel pleaded.

"I am sorry, Mabel. Like any other living thing, I am forced to obey time. My last few years were filled with nothing but good memories, thanks to you two." Multibear said fondly, coughing once again.

The two twins sat in silence, Mabel nearly in tears and Madison fighting her own emotions. She took in a shaky breath.

"_Disco girl, comin' through_" she sang, trembling.

"_That girl is you."_ Multibear finished quietly. "You have a good voice, Madison." He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

"Thank you, Pines. For making my last moments truly happy." He said slowly, his body becoming relaxed and still.

Mabel gasped. Madison put her hand on her twin's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, tears now streaming down her own face as well. Chutzpar walked back into the room, only to find the sad scene before him.

Several shouts were heard from the front of the cave a few seconds later.

Madison's phone started ringing.

"H-hello?" she answered shakily.

"_Madison? You alright? You sound like you're crying."_ Stan said through the phone. That was all Madison needed.

Gripping her sister tight, she dropped the phone and started to cry in full.

The Manotaurs entered the room, carrying a large wooden board with handles on it. Carefully, Beardy picked up Multibear's body and placed it on the board.

"We will give him a proper Manotaur sendoff." Testosteraur said somberly.

"_MADISON! ANSWER ME!"_ Stan's voice came through clearly from the phone on the floor after a few minutes.

Madison wiped her eyes on her sleeves, bending down and picking up the cell phone.

"We're alright, Grunkle Stan. We just got some… bad news." Madison said shakily after a moment to gather herself.

"_Where are you kids?!"_ he asked.

"We're still up in the mountain, at the Man Cave." Madison explained how to get to the cave. Stan hung up the call after saying a quick goodbye.

As they left the cave, Chutzpar grabbed Madison's shoulder.

"The funeral will be tomorrow, Destructor. He would want you to be there. Both of you." He patted the girl sadly. Madison nodded in understanding, and led her sister out from the cave.

As the twins made their way down the mountain, they ran into their Grunkles.

"There you are! We were worried sick looking for… hey, why the long faces?" Stan asked. Mabel got overwhelmed once again, and broke down into Stan's arms.

Ford looked at Madison, who shook her head with sorrow. As her Great Uncles arms held her, she too broke down once more.

* * *

_The Next Day_

Ford, Mabel, and Madison drove to the forest once more. Madison and Mabel had been too distraught to eat, and had skipped breakfast. All were wearing black, with Madison wearing a black button-up with slacks, while Mabel wore a dress.

As the three made their way up to the cave, Ford sighed.

"I haven't been this far into the woods in decades…" he said softly.

As they approached the cave, they were joined by several of their friends, including Pacifica, Candy, Grenda, and Wendy. Manly-Dan made an appearance out of respect for the legendary bear, and even shed a few "manly tears".

"People of the valley!" Chutzpar said loudly. Everyone looked at him quietly.

"Today, we're gathered to honor the life of the Multibear. For as long as most of us can remember, Multibear has been around to offer kind words and friendly chat." He started the service. "In line with Manotaur tradition, he will be honored here in the Man Cave with a statue carved in his likeness."

Behind him, a large stone statue was revealed from a tarp, carved to look like Multibear.

"You may now approach and say your last goodbyes." Chutzpar said, starting off with simply laying a hand on Multibear's chest and closing his eyes for a second.

As everyone cycled through, Madison left her copy of a '_The Best of BABBA'_ CD with him. Mabel put down a sweater with Multibear on it and started tearing up again.

Pacifica left an expensive looking locket, which when opened revealed a picture of the Bill Cypher Resistance laughing together in the run-down Mystery Shack. Manly-Dan left an axe. The gnomes left several crystals.

When everyone had cycled through, the Manotaurs started to pile wooden logs over the casket. Leaderaur stepped forward, and breathed fire onto the pile softly.

Madison could barely hold back tears as she began to sing.

"_May the road rise to meet you,  
May the wind be always at your back.  
May the sun shine warm upon your face,  
The rains fall soft upon your fields._

_And until we meet again,  
Until we meet again,  
May God hold you in the palm of his hand."_

Mabel and Ford knew the song as well, and joined in harmony along with Wendy, who had heard it countless times from Ford while he hummed it when he was working.

"_May the road rise up to meet you,  
May the wind be always at your back.  
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home,  
And may the hand of a friend always be near._

_And until we meet again,  
Until we meet again,  
May God hold you in the palm of his hand."_ (*)

The quartet ended their song, and multiple people were in tears. As they watched the pyre burn, the crowd dispersed. Soon, the only ones left were the Pines and the Manotaurs.

Chutzpar walked up to them, and rested a hand on Madison's shoulder. "He would've loved to hear that song, Destructor." He said sadly.

Madison reached up and put her hand on his. "It's Madison. My name is Madison." She said to the Manotaur, who nodded in response.

After a while, the Pines left the cave. Ford wore a sad expression.

"You know, I met the Multibear many, many years ago, when I first came to Gravity Falls." Ford started. "He was one of the first creatures I befriended here. It's… sad to see him go."

The trio walked slowly back to their car, and drove back to the Shack.

* * *

Footnotes:

*: This is from a traditional Irish blessing. I couldn't find any videos of the whole thing being performed, so I found lyrics of it online. I chose this because it was performed during our graduation from high school and struck many chords with me.


	3. New Secrets, New Adventures

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 3: New Secrets, New Adventures

* * *

The week started out glumly. Everyone was still shaken up over the passing of Multibear, and the town seemed to slow down, despite most of the town not knowing who Multibear was.

Madison had taken it especially hard. She locked herself into her studies on the paranormal, spending days at a time watching creatures and anomalies, taking notes.

Ford had watched as heavy bags formed under his niece's eyes. He wanted to help the young adventurer, but didn't know how. Until an idea sparked in his head one day at breakfast.

"Madison, I'd like for you to come down to my lab after you finish eating. There's something I want to show you." He said calmly, getting up from the table and walking towards the new door he and Stan had installed within the living room to his elevator to avoid moving the vending machine every day.

Madison's head perked up, eyes suddenly not as tired as they used to be. She nodded, and started wolfing down the rest of her pancakes, courtesy of Mable.

When she was finished chugging the rest of her coffee, she bolted to the elevator and caught up with Ford.

"That… was fast." He remarked. Madison only nodded in response.

As they entered the elevator, Ford turned to his niece.

"Madison, please be honest. How are you feeling?" He asked gently, resting a hand on her shoulder. She looked down.

"I-I… I don't know." She said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I understand that loss is hard to deal with, and Multibear was a good friend of yours, but things like this happen. Especially in our line of work." He explained calmly.

Madison nodded. "I know it does, but… it still hurts." She murmured.

Ford sighed as the elevator stopped.

"Your study?" Madison sniffed.

"Yep! I never showed you this, but come here and tell me what you can see about this part of the wall." He asked confidently.

Madison slowly walked over to the wall. Immediately, she saw a small panel that wasn't quite the same as the rest, being an ever so slightly different color.

Pressing her hand to it, the panel popped out to reveal a small control panel.

"This is the control panel for this entire room. Each of those switches on the top opens a secret compartment. Pick one!" he explained.

Madison nodded and flipped the switch labeled "Copy".

Across the room, another panel popped out of place, revealing three journals. Madison stared at them in shock.

"What? But… how?! I thought Bill destroyed these!" Madison exclaimed.

"You honestly think I only made one set?" Ford chuckled. "Any good researcher keeps backups on hand in case something happens! Granted, these don't have the additions you made, but they still have all the secret writings in them! I seem to remember you only ever looking through my third journal with that blacklight of yours." He smirked.

Madison looked at him in shock. "You're… giving them to me? Just like that?" she asked cautiously.

Ford nodded. "Just as long as you return them when you're done. Oh, and if you don't mind, rip out the pages that explain how the portal works and burn them for me. I still don't want _anyone_ messing with interdimensional travel ever again." He said adamantly.

Madison nodded as she loaded her arms with all three journals. She smiled for the first time in several days, and said a quick but heartfelt "Thank you Great Uncle Ford!" as she sped off to the attic.

Mabel was just about to finish brushing her hair after a shower when she felt a disturbance. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in 3 years. It was…

"Oh no." Mabel muttered to herself as she braced for impact.

The door burst open, and Madison stood in the doorway panting, arms full of journals.

"Hey Mads, whatcha got there?" Mabel asked, recovering from the flinch she had when the door practically broke open.

"He made copies!" Madison giggled in an unsettling way.

"What? What copies, and who?" Mabel asked, turning to her sister. She then saw the symbol on the front. "Wait, weren't those burned in Weirdmageddon?" she asked.

"Yes! Great Uncle Ford had copies in the basement!" Madison cheered as she slammed the first journal on the desk, opening it and pulling out her blacklight. She quickly began scanning through the pages, looking for hidden markings. She was quickly disappointed. "Wh-what?" Madison said in disbelief.

"What's up, sis?" Mabel asked, walking over to the desk.

"That's just it… there's nothing!" Madison exclaimed. She got up from the chair, pacing around the room.

"I just don't get it, if a blacklight won't show it, what will? I _know_ he put hidden text in here, he told me he did!" she rambled, going into what Mabel referred to as "geek mode".

Mabel picked up the book, turning on her hair dryer to finish her post-shower routine. As she turned the dryer to her head, she noticed small markings appear on the page where the hot air was hitting the paper.

"MADDIE! I'M A GENIUS!" Mabel screamed as she turned the hair dryer to 'warm' and pointed it right at the book.

"-or maybe he used lemon juice! Like in that—huh?" Madison stopped mid thought to see Mabel holding her hair dryer up to the book. "MABEL WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU'RE GONNA BURN IT!" Madison ran up to her sister to pull the hair dryer away, when the red markings caught her eye. "Wait, how did you..."

"I started drying my hair!" Mabel said proudly.

Madison grabbed the hair dryer from her sister, flipping all the way back to the cover.

"_If anyone other than myself is reading this, congratulations! You've discovered my patented Thermal Ink! It's an invention of my own design that uses chromatophores instead of normal pigment. It only reveals the message through heat alone, so not even a blacklight can detect this stuff. _

_This ink was created as a safeguard. Within these messages are my biggest, deepest discoveries. Some of the things I've written in this book using this ink could get me thrown into federal prison for life. National secrets, ancient spells, and some things that I wish had never come to light._

_If you're still reading, I'm assuming you're either in danger, I've trusted you with this journal, or you have killed me and taken it for yourself. In any of these cases, I only ask of you to use the knowledge in this book wisely."_

Madison read the passage out loud to herself, smiling the entire time. "I knew there was something I was missing!" she said happily, taking Mabel's hairdryer from her with a noise of protest coming from said twin.

Flipping through the book one more time with the hair dryer, Madison froze on a single page.

Across the top of the page, in bright red, was the word Northwest.

"Mabel, check this out!" Madison said, starting to read the passage.

"In my studies, I have discovered that the Northwest family is incredibly special. Completely selfish and horrible, but special nonetheless. They are gifted with a very special type of magic, allowing them to manipulate luck and, in theory, elemental magic at their will. I have seen Northwests cheat using this magic to win small lottery drawings, bingo matches, and even going as far as to manipulate the chances of having a boy or girl for a child. They are quite adept at this Luck magic, though they have yet to show any signs of using it for good. This only furthers my opinion of them that they are stuck up assholes who only care for themselves." Madison read aloud, looking up at Mabel at the end of the passage.

The twins stared at each other in silence, before Mabel broke it.

"PACIFICA IS MAGICAL?!" Mabel shouted, almost deafening Madison, who held her ears. "Sorry." Mabel apologized.

Madison looked back at the page. "Do you think we should tell her? Maybe Great Uncle Ford could train her to do other magic?" the nerdy twin suggested.

"Ooooh! I've always wanted a spellcaster friend!" Mabel replied excitedly.

"So, we're telling her then?" Madison asked.

"A-doi!" Mabel responded with a silly face. She then put on a thoughtful expression. "But how do we tell her?" she asked her twin.

Just as Madison was about to answer her sister, the doorbell rang.

"Huh, wonder who that is?" Madison asked nobody in particular.

Getting down the stairs, the twins found that Stan had already opened the door.

To reveal none other than Pacifica herself, wearing a small pink bag on her back.

"Paz?! What are you doing here!" Mabel asked excitedly as she hugged her friend, who returned it without much thought.

"My parents are being… well, my parents, so I left for the day. I'll probably stay out for a night, if you'll have me." She said as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you ok? They didn't hurt you, did they?" Madison asked, a bit concerned since she knew how Pacifica's parents got when they were mad.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just that my dad still thinks that dumb bell works on me." Pacifica chuckled. "You should've seen his face when I walked up to him and just smacked it out of his hand!" She started laughing full on. After about 10 seconds, the laughter subsided. "Seriously though, I got kicked out. Can I stay here for the night?" she asked, wiping tears from her eyes and smiling.

Stan looked at the kids, who were looking straight back at him.

"Only if you don't break anything." He said begrudgingly.

"SLEEPOVER!" cried Mabel, ecstatic that she would be having Pacifica over for a night.

They ended up agreeing that Pacifica would take the guest room that once was Stan's parlor, where he had kept the old haunted wax figures. Stan and Ford had renovated the room in case they ever had to take in a guest or a friend that was down on their luck.

The three teens settled into the room, with a stack of movies, blankets, and board games. Mabel had graduated from those cheesy boy-crazed games that she enjoyed when she was 12, and instead brought games like Cards Against Humanity, Risk, Monopoly, and a Ouija Board. (Yes, that's how it's spelled, not Weegee board.)

"Uh, Mabel? Why do you have that thing?" Madison asked, pointing at the supposedly paranormal game.

"We're in Gravity Falls, duh! Something's bound to happen with this thing!" Mabel explained.

After setting up the TV that was in the closet, the trio then had to decide on which movie to watch first. Madison, of course, chose a movie based on an 19th century mystery solving duo. Mabel opted for _Kitty Explosion Power Force 3: Dogpocalypse_, but eventually they all settled with Pacifica's choice of a cheesy rom-com titled _My Small Slim Italian Wedding_.

As they sat down on the floor at the base of the bed, Mabel produced a ridiculous amount of sweets from seemingly nowhere. Pacifica, knowing better than to ask, grabbed a bag of Sour Area Children and started eating.

About 30 minutes into the movie, Mabel nudged her sister and motioned towards Pacifica. The younger twin understood what her sister was trying to say.

"Hey, Pacifica?" Madison started, getting the attention of her friend. "We, um… we need to show you something." She stated, pulling out Ford's first journal. Pacifica, now intrigued, scooted closer as Madison opened the journal and pulled out a hairdryer. Mabel plugged the hairdryer in, and Pacifica looked at the two like they had each grown a second head.

"Just watch." Mabel said to the confused girl. Madison turned on the dryer, and started warming the page.

Pacifica stared in awe as the red ink revealed itself. Madison handed her the book, and kept putting warm air on the page.

"Read it!" Mabel urged with a whisper as Pacifica took the book.

The twins watched as Pacifica's expression changed slowly from confused to shocked. The heiress looked up from the book slowly after she finished the passage, not sure how to comprehend what she'd just read.

"Maddie, I think we broke her…" Mabel loudly whispered to her sister. Madison shuffled until she was next to Pacifica.

"Um… Paz?" she tried, looking into Pacifica's eyes. They were distant, shocked.

"Pacifica? You ok?" the nerdy twin tried again, waving her hand in front of the blonde's face. That got a reaction.

Pacifica looked at Madison, face still stuck in a shocked expression.

"I'm… m-magic?" she whispered, as if saying anything too loud would shatter some kind of illusion.

Madison smiled at her friend. "Yeah, you're magic."

Pacifica looked down at the floor, eyes still wide. "Do… you need a minute?" Mabel asked cautiously.

"No, just… now it all makes so much sense." Pacifica said quietly.

"What makes sense?" Madison asked.

"How we got so rich." The heiress explained. "They lied, cheated, and stole from others. My parents don't deserve even a quarter of what they own."

The room got quiet for a second, until Mabel spoke up again.

"Well you can be the one to change that! You can be the first Northwest to deserve your fortune!" she tried to cheer up her friend. Pacifica looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks, Mabel." She said to the cheerful girl.

"Hey, I bet if we talk to Great Uncle Ford, he could teach you a few things! Like magic stuff!" Madison suggested.

"Yeah! I bet he can tell you how to use your lucky powers!" Mabel agreed, eyes going wide at the prospect of having a super-good-luck charm as a friend.

"I-I don't know you guys. I've seen my parents use it for some pretty terrible reasons…" Pacifica hesitated. Madison nodded.

"But it's like Mabel said, isn't it? You can finally break the cycle. You can use these powers for good instead of selfish gain." The girl reasoned.

Pacifica thought about it for a minute, until Madison chimed in again. "You know what? Let's just leave it until tomorrow. Give you some time to think it over, yeah? It's still pretty early, so we can still have a lot of fun!" she offered.

"That… sounds nice." Pacifica smiled, looking at Madison and promptly blushed, realizing just how close the two actually were. Madison caught on to this as well, and her cheeks lit up even brighter than Pacifica's. Thankfully Mabel had turned around and started sifting through her "Sleepover Party Bag" that had materialized seemingly out of nowhere.

"You said it Maddie, let's have some FUN!" Mabel said loudly as she pulled out several packs of gummy snacks, and produced a packet of Smile Dip for herself.

"No, no no no! You are NOT allowed to eat those! Remember what happened at the convenience store?!" Madison replied sternly as she grabbed the packet of illegal sugar dust.

"Uh, yeah! That was awesome!" Mabel reasoned.

"You went into a coma for _two days_, Mabel! This stuff isn't safe!" Madison worried.

"To be fair." Mabel started. "I _did_ have about 27 packets that day."

Madison grumbled, conceding to her sister's reasoning, however twisted it may have been, and handed the packet back to her hyperactive twin.

"Yes!" Mabel fist-pumped as she ripped the pack open and poured the dust straight into her mouth like it was a drink.

Pacifica watched the exchange with a mortified expression. She had heard of the infamous Smile Dip, and how it was rumored to have actually contained hard drugs.

"She'll be fine." Madison said to her friend, hanging her head in defeat and face-palming.

After she had swallowed all of the powder in the small package, Mabel ripped out the sugary stick used to dip into the powder to get a controlled amount at once, and threw the entire hard-candy stick into her mouth, crunching it down as if it were a small packet of crackers. Madison, Pacifica, and even Waddles, who had been walking past the door at the time, all cringed violently as the horrifying _crunch_ sounds reverberated through the room and part of the hallway outside.

"How does she do that?" Pacifica whispered to Madison.

"I have a theory that Mabel's teeth are made of a material more dense than pure elemental Lead and harder than diamonds. I have yet to find anything that proves otherwise." Madison said calmly, as if in thought.

For the rest of the night, the group snacked on candy, chips, soda, and marshmallows as they played games well into the early hours of the morning.


	4. A Learning Experience

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 4: A Learning Experience

* * *

Morning came. The sun shone through the single large window sitting just above the large couch that was in the room. At the base of the couch was a sight sure to make even the most cold-hearted of people smile. Three teenage friends were on the floor, each with their own blanket, sitting in front of an unfinished game of Monopoly.

Pacifica's head was leaned onto Madison's shoulder, and Madison seemed to be returning the gesture in her sleep.

Slowly, Pacifica came to. The first thing she noticed was how comfortable she was, followed shortly by the realization she was sitting instead of laying down. Against her wish to fall back into the warm embrace of slumber, she opened her eyes.

Looking down to her right, she found Mabel curled up on the floor like a dog. Disheveled brown hair was everywhere, making it hard to tell where her head actually was.

Her attention shifted suddenly when her "pillow" shifted slightly. Suddenly, Pacifica remembered who was next to her when she had passed out after losing in Monopoly.

The blonde-haired girl was fully awake now, and was furiously blushing. One might have compared the color to the inside of a ripe watermelon. Her heart started pounding and Pacifica started to panic. She had no idea what to do in this situation.

'_Stupid brain, think of something!'_ Pacifica thought to herself. She knew if she moved, she would surely wake Madison from her own sleep, and that wasn't an option for her.

The other thing she could do was wait. Wait until Madison woke up on her own, and then pretend to still be asleep and act as if nothing ever happened. _'Yeah, that sounds good.'_

Pacifica felt Madison shift once more. In a panic, she shut her eyes and started to breathe deeply, playing it off as if she were asleep.

Groaning lightly as she lifted her head and stretched her free arm, Madison yawned.

Looking down at the sleeping girl on her shoulder, Madison grinned.

"I know you were awake, Paz." She teased, her voice a little gravelly from having just woken up. In response, Pacifica tensed.

'_Gotcha.'_ Madison thought to herself in victory.

Pacifica's face immediately went red again. She opened her eyes once more and looked down, not moving her head.

"Did you sleep well?" the other girl asked, cheer in her voice.

Pacifica slowly nodded, and looked up at her friend, lifting her head off Madison's shoulder.

She forgot how close she really was.

A measly two inches was all that separated their faces. Immediately, Madison's face lit up like a firework, turning a brilliant shade of red. Pacifica followed suit, immediately sitting bolt-upright and turning her face entirely away from Madison, who had done so as well.

Awkward silence filled the room for a few moments. Both girls were screaming internally at what had just happened, until a third voice, albeit very muffled, cut through their thoughts.

"Good morning!" Mabel said tiredly through her pillow. Both Pacifica and Madison relaxed, finally having something else to focus on.

Mabel lifted her head up off her pillow, hair poofed out in multiple directions, including up much to the disbelief of her more scientific twin.

"I will never understand how your hair does that." Madison commented. Mabel giggled tiredly. Letting out a great yawn, Mabel stretched every limb at once, splaying out on the floor like a starfish, and held the position for a few seconds before letting her arms and legs relax back onto the floor with a _thump_. Mabel let out a giggle reminiscent of a drunk person.

"Is… is she ok?" Pacifica asked cautiously.

"Yeah, she's just like this when she doesn't have her… Mabel juice…" Madison explained, unsure of how to explain her sister's daily elixir of caffeine, sugar, vanilla extract, glitter and plastic dinosaurs. "Just… don't ask what that is. You don't want to know."

Pacifica nodded, not quite knowing how to handle the situation.

After the more… eccentric twin woke up, the trio made their way downstairs for breakfast and… _Mabel Juice._

* * *

Eventually, Mabel walked back out of the kitchen with a glass filled with an obnoxiously pink and glittery fluid, with small plastic dinosaurs floating in the "drink".

"Uhh…" Pacifica started, about to ask what that was. She was stopped by Madison grabbing her shoulder and sighing.

"You _don't_ want to know." She said again.

Pacifica, with a look of grim understanding, nodded.

Breakfast continued as normal, and Mabel's energy shot through the roof after downing the potentially hazardous mixture.

As they were finishing up their food, Ford walked into the room with an electromechanics book in hand.

"Madison, how familiar are you with the electric conductivity of a Titanium Tennessine compound?" he asked, flipping through the book and sighing.

"Isn't that one of the unknowns?" Madison asked, confused.

"Yep! I think I made an alloy last night, and it's exhibiting some strange behaviors. This stuff seems to be virtually indestructible!" he explained, smiling.

Madison was about to start nerding out, but remembered the trio had the night before.

"Paz, if you wanna ask now's the time." She said to her friend reassuringly. Pacifica's eyes widened slightly, then hardened with determination.

As Ford was about to leave the room, Pacifica spoke up.

"Um… Mr. Pines, sir…" she started, voice wavering with a lack of confidence.

"Hm?" Ford grunted as he turned around.

"I… I was shown something in one of your books last night… about my family…" she started, still unsure of herself.

"Hm." Ford grunted again, stepping closer. "Blue eyes, vibrant blonde hair, and a silk nightshirt… You must be a Northwest!" Ford snapped his fingers in recognition. "Yes, I remember studying your family for weeks. It all started when I was invited to one of their parties for being a recognized scholar and scientist, and I noticed certain things that lined up a little _too_ perfectly."

Pacifica nodded. She didn't seem able to find the courage to continue, however, and Madison noticed.

"Can I?" she asked her blonde friend. Pacifica nodded in response. Madison turned to her Great Uncle.

"Pacifica wants to know if you can teach her anything about how to use it. Or how to use any other magic, if you think she can." The nerdy twin said confidently.

"Ah. Well, unfortunately I know nothing about how the Northwest family's magic works. On the other hand, I think I can show you a spell or two for you to practice tapping into your natural magic reserves." Ford smiled at the girl. Pacifica smiled when she heard the news. "Now follow me!" Ford said enthusiastically, waving his hand to the three of them as he walked into the corridor.

Pacifica was nervous. She was being led down a creepy narrow hallway behind what was obviously a hastily installed door.

Mabel noticed her friend's reaction. "Hey, don't worry! Mads and I have been down here a bunch of times, and nothing bad ever happened!" she reassured her friend, who smiled back nervously.

Ford led the group to his study, and started searching the walls. "Hmm… now where did I put that… aha!" he mumbled, finally finding the secret panel he was looking for.

Pressing his thumb on a crack, he pressed into the wall. The false panel swung open, revealing yet another small control panel. This one had buttons and a small screen as well.

Flipping a switch, Ford turned around to the opposite wall and moved a painting. Behind it was a small compartment with a safe door. Spinning the dial to the correct numbers, Ford opened it.

Inside were three books. They were all leather-bound and incredibly tattered. Madison wondered how they hadn't fallen apart yet.

Pulling out the first book, Ford turned to Pacifica.

"This, is a basic spellcasting book. It contains some defensive spells that you can practice without hurting yourself or anyone around you. Just remember that even if nothing happens the first time, you need to keep practicing. Using magic is like using a muscle; since you've never used it before, it's likely that you won't be able to do anything for the first few hours of practice." Ford explained in a happy tone, handing the book to the blonde girl.

She took the book as if it were an ancient relic, and it might as well have been.

"And if you feel like you're going to pass out, try not to fall asleep on any dry grass or highly flammable material. Sometimes your mana, your magic energy, can flare if you don't know how to control it properly. It's… not pretty when it catches fire." He warned. "Have fun!"

The trio left the basement, returning to the ground floor of the shack. "So what are you gonna do, Paz?" Mabel asked excitedly.

"I guess…" Pacifica started, looking down to the leather tome in her hands. "I guess I'll start practicing." She said, smiling at the worn book. Then a crash was heard in the kitchen, followed by a string of swears from Stan as glass shattered.

"I might need a quieter place to concentrate though…" Pacifica mused. Both twins giggled at that, and Madison's eyes lit up with an idea.

"I know the perfect place!" she presented.

* * *

_One hour later_

* * *

The group had been walking for nearly 45 minutes, each of the girls taking time to get properly dressed in outdoor clothes. Finally they reached a clearing.

"Here it is!" Madison said, spreading her arms out. "I used to come here a lot back when we were 12. It's a nice, quiet spot to get away from the Shack or wherever when things get too crazy. I guess you could say it's pretty special to me." She explained.

The clearing was nice, with a giant fallen log off to the side to sit down and read, and a large, cleanly cut stump maybe 15 feet away. In the center was a bare spot, slowly being encroached upon by the grass and other plant life on the forest floor. Within the bare spot was a small hole in the dirt where it seemed there was once a post. (It's where the mailbox was, but now it's not foggy.)

Pacifica took the spot in, and committed to memory how they got there. It was beautiful, with a few rays of sunlight flittering in through the trees.

"This place is amazing, Maddie!" Pacifica said, smiling as she continued to look around. Finally satisfied with how much she'd seen, she turned her attention to the book.

"Now let's see. Opening statements, What is mana, Safety, and… aha! How to Use Mana!" Pacifica said as she read through the Table of Contents.

As Pacifica read, the twins sat down on the fallen tree in the back of the clearing, letting Pacifica have her space. Madison pulled out a small book of her own and started reading, pulling the bookmark out of its comfortable nest between the pages.

Mabel wasn't so easily entertained, and so she started investigating the hole in the middle of the clearing. She pulled out her phone and turned on her flashlight, shining it down the hole.

Staring back at her was nothing. Pitch black, for an undeterminable distance straight down. Mabel started to let her imagination do the rest of the work until Pacifica spoke up about 15 minutes later.

"Alright, I think I understand this." She said, confidence in her voice. "First spell?" she looked to her friends.

"First spell!" Mabel repeated, excited to see actual magic being done.

"_Ut protege potestatibus!" _(1) Pacifica said in a foreign language. She did as the book instructed, clearing her mind and focusing on her inner energies and how they flowed.

At first nothing happened. Pacifica grew slightly frustrated.

"Oh come on! I did everything the book said!" she complained.

"Paz, it's ok. Remember what Great Uncle Ford said? It's like a muscle, and you haven't ever used yours until now. Let it acclimate." Madison said in a calming tone, consoling her friend.

Pacifica nodded and took a few deep breaths. Taking one last breath, she said the spell once more.

And again, and again.

Until, on the fourth try, something peculiar happened. The wind picked up slightly, and Pacifica's hair wavered in the breeze.

Suddenly, a faintly glowing, transparent blue shield formed in front of her. It was a kite shield, with ornate vines and flowers decorating the ethereal surface.

Pacifica's eyes grew wide. She smiled brightly, and turned to Madison, who was just as pleasantly shocked as Pacifica was.

"YES!" Pacifica screamed, the shield dispelling as she lost concentration on it. Mabel started clapping at the display.

"I knew you could do it, Paz!" Mabel said, praising her friend as Pacifica hugged the twins.

Pacifica was on cloud 9. She could do magic! Quickly and excitedly, she flipped through some of the other spells, reading their effects.

"Ok, so we have a fireball, a lightning bolt, a spell to tame wild animals, a few more protection spells, and… ooooooh!" she said suddenly, stopping on a page.

"What is it?" Mabel asked.

"This spell can summon wolf familiars to my side!" she said in awe, seeing in her head how cool it would be to have ethereal wolves.

"That actually brings up a good question. What _is_ your familiar?" Madison asked.

"What do you mean?" Pacifica asked. Madison put her hand to her chin in thought.

"Every notable witch or wizard in history had a familiar, right? Merlin had an owl, and a few others had ravens, and even some of the fictional ones had familiars, like deer or cats." Madison continued.

"Oh! This one is just _Summon Familiar_!" Pacifica said, reading the page. "Warning: do not summon your familiar until you are sure you can control it. This usually takes months of practice and extreme concentration on the first cast." The book read.

"Eh, what could go wrong?" Mabel stated. Pacifica shrugged, and went along with it.

"_Iusk zu sk, U yvoxoz ul yvoxozy!"_ (2) Pacifica said, the arcane tongue rolling from her mouth as if she knew the language perfectly.

A large wind blew, and a concentrated blue light formed at Pacifica's outstretched hand. The intensity grew, and continued to grow until it was borderline blinding. Then, as it became unbearable, it flared and disappeared.

In the middle of the clearing was a small white dragon, with feathered wings.

"I-it's… a Wyvern!" Madison gasped. She'd only heard tales of Wyverns, that they were mythical creatures that never truly existed.

"A what-vern?" Pacifica asked.

"A Wyvern! It's a member of the Wyrm Dragons, and it's said to be one of the most fearsome legendary beasts of mythos!" she exclaimed. She got up close to it. "This little one will eventually be the size of your entire mansion one day! From the looks of it, it can't be very old yet." Madison continued. She tried to pet the small dragon, but it reared back and flew to Pacifica, resting on her shoulders.

"Aww, it likes you!" Mabel said, taking in the adorable sight.

"Hey little buddy! What's your name?" Pacifica asked it.

The Wyvern got off of her shoulders and shook itself out, before staring straight into Pacifica's eyes. Somehow, a message was transferred in complete silence.

"Jiyubih?" (3) Pacifica asked, and the Wyvern nodded.

"And you're a… girl?" she asked, and again the dragon nodded.

"Alright, Jiyubih! I feel like we're going to be good friends!" Pacifica offered, and Jiyubih wrapped herself around Pacifica's arm, staring right into her eyes again.

"Wait, really? That's what happens?" she asked, curious. As if to prove what she had said, Jiyubih started to melt onto Pacifica's arm, head facing her hand at her wrist. When the Wyvern disappeared, there was a tattoo left on Pacifica's arm. "Woah." The girl said simply, holding her new tattoo up to the light.

"What just happened?" Madison asked.

"Ah. So, basically Jiyubih lives in a different plane of existance than we do, and the tattoo she gave me acts as a conduit for summoning her. When she's here, the tattoo disappears. Also, she recognizes me as her summoner, but doesn't want to be called for anything 'trivial'." Pacifica explained.

"That. Is. AWESOME!" Mabel screamed, rushing up to look at the detailed tattoo. The scales were tipped with a rainbow sheen, and the wings were beautiful.

When the excitement died down, the trio went back to the Shack.

* * *

Over dinner, Pacifica told Ford of what happened.

"You did WHAT?!" he shouted, standing up from the table. Pacifica got scared.

"I-I didn't mean to, sir, I-I… I…" she stammered.

"That's absolutely incredible! You managed to summon your own familiar on the first try, without exploding, on your first day! There's not a wizard or witch in recorded _history_ that's done what you've done today!" he praised, smiling at the prodigious spellcaster. Pacifica's scared, shocked expression turned to one of relief as she sighed.

"And that tattoo is gorgeous! Is that how she really looks?" he asked.

"Yes! She's quite a cute little dragon!" Pacifica said with pride.

Pacifica and Ford talked about magic and how to use it for a few hours after that, Ford making sure Pacifica wouldn't get herself hurt while practicing further.

She went to bed with a huge smile on her face that night.

* * *

Some footnotes:

1: This is Latin for "May the powers that be protect me"

2: A 6 letter Caesar Cipher meaning "Come to me, O spirit of spirits"

3: One of the names you could chose for your Wyvern in Final Fantasy XI, on list 3. It means Jubilee.


	5. The Grand Re-Re-Opening

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 5: The Grand Re-Re-Opening

* * *

Two weeks of summer had come and gone. Pacifica had left the Shack to return home only a few days ago. Her parents were incredibly unhappy with the new tattoo and old leather book.

Life was finally beginning to fall back into its regular swing, with people already getting used to the fact that 'Dipper' was a girl the whole time. Mabel had started to get the itch to make something, as the young artist periodically did, and Stan had an idea while looking at the characters she drew in her book.

Groaning with a large push, Stan shoved a large block of… something into the shack.

"Mabel! Come over here!" Stan yelled for his niece.

"Heyo!" Mabel cheered as she rounded the corner. "What's up, Grunkle Stan?"

Panting, Stan slid down to the floor. "Remember that wax figure you made three years ago?" Stan asked, still out of breath. Mabel nodded. "Well, here's a 2-ton block of wax! Go nuts!" he announced.

Mabel's eyes lit up and she gasped. Her mind started racing through ideas of what to make. At that moment, Madison came downstairs to see the giant block of wax.

"Ooooooh no." She deadpanned. Madison knew that when you gave Mabel an outlet of creativity, she'd ride it for miles. "Grunkle Stan, where'd you even find a block of wax that big?" she asked.

"I uh… found it at a garage sale!" he lied. Madison pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Grunkle Stan, last time you "found" wax at a garage sale it turned out to be haunted and nearly killed you." She said with airquotes.

"Ssshhhhhh! Art is happening!" Mabel exclaimed as she started pushing the block up the stairs to her "crafting room", which was just Ford's old room that she had repurposed since he moved into the basement.

Stan and Madison watched in astonishment as the small teenage girl somehow managed to push the 2 tons of wax up the stairs, with the aid of a small wagon.

"How many sports does she play in?" Stan asked.

"I lost track at 8." Madison answered, not looking away from her twin sister. "Need help, Mabes?" she asked.

"Nope! I got it!" Mabel responded as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey Madison, do you mind helping me move these jars of Snake Oil? There's a lot of them and… why do I smell paraffin?" Ford asked as he walked up the stairs.

"Grunkle Stan "found" about $8000 of wax and gave it to Mabel." Madison explained. Ford glared at his twin brother.

"Stanley, did you take the block of wax that we had in the storage unit?" he asked.

"I uh, what? I don't know what you're talking about!" Stan stuttered, not looking Ford in the eyes.

Ford sighed. "Stanley, that was the remains of those old haunted sculptures you had. Whatever she makes out of those is going to turn out just like the ones that tried to kill you." He explained to his twin.

Stan shrugged. "Eh, if it comes down to it, we still have those electric blankets. We'll just smother the creeps until they melt." He waved it off.

Madison and Ford both sighed again, disappointed with Stan's decisions.

_Three hours later_

Mabel had finished separating the wax into five smaller blocks, each one large enough to make its own sculpture.

"Hmm… now what to create?" Mabel asked herself. She thought hard about it for a moment, before Madison came into the room.

"Mabel, dinner's in an hour, so don't get too far into it." She told her sister.

Mabel gasped. Inspiration had struck her. "Oh, Muse, you _still_ work in mysterious ways!" she said to the ceiling.

"What are you talking about?" Madison asked.

"Us! I'm gonna sculpt our family!" Mabel said, turning to her twin.

"Uhh… I'm not so sure that's a good idea…" Madison said, concerned.

"Why not?" Mabel replied.

"You do know that's the same haunted wax that those creepy figures we destroyed were made from, right? Whatever you make out of that stuff is gonna come to life." Madison explained.

"Pfffft, haunted shmaunted! I'm sure it'll be fine!" Mabel dismissed.

Madison shrugged and left the room. She thought it best to leave Mabel to her creating for the time being.

She left the room and went upstairs to her shared room in the attic. Pulling out her journal, she opened it to re-read the progress she had already made.

'_Haunted Wax._

_In my adventures, I have encountered a special collection of wax figures that have been possessed and given personalities to reflect the people they resemble, coming to life under the light of the moon. Their weakness is anything with heat. The sun, a candle, even a group hug should suffice. Like Gnomes, they are virtually harmless when alone and unarmed. The only thing to be scared of is their inability to feel pain and ability to keep moving even if dismembered. Do NOT let them conspire, as they can be sneaky and plan behind your back.'_

Madison giggled at the memory of Larry King's head bouncing around and being speared on the top of the Take Back the Falls flag.

Flipping the page, Madison landed on her page on the ShapeShifter.

'_The ShapeShifter._

_This incredibly dangerous specimen is currently frozen in the abandoned Bunker site. Not only is this creature smart, but it is also strong, venomous, and apparently insatiably hungry. It is able to tear groups apart by pretending to be one of the group and having everyone else suspect one of them as the creature. It is able to read situations incredibly fast, picking up on the mannerisms of a specific person after only being exposed to them for a few minutes. _

_DO NOT unfreeze this subject. Doing so will result in your death, and if it escapes the entire town will be endangered. If it kills or captures you, it will most likely imitate you to trick people into thinking it's you. It will then escape and wreak havoc on the world_

_Weaknesses include its inability to gain the memories of people it shifts into, the inability to shift into anything or anyone it hasn't seen, and is susceptible to freezing via cryogenics, but a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher should work in a pinch.'_

Madison shuddered at the pose the ShapeShifter was probably still stuck in. The likeness of her childhood self was uncanny, and she remembered taking that same pose when she was turned into wood during the Northwest Manor incident.

"Madison! Mabel! Dinner!" Madison heard Stan yell distantly. Shaking off the memories, she put her journal under her bed.

"Coming!" she yelled back.

Hopefully things would be less sinister this summer.

* * *

_The next day_

* * *

Madison woke up early. Earlier than usual. She expected to get a tackle from Mabel, but nothing landed on her. There wasn't any snoring, so she was definitely up.

'_Something's up…'_ she thought to herself.

Getting out of bed and putting on her slippers, Madison straightened out her oversized Ursa Major sleeping shirt, which hung off of one of her shoulders.

Walking down the stairs to the second floor, she noticed that the light in Mabel's art room was still on.

Opening the door slowly, Madison stuck her head in. "Mabes? You still in here?" she asked quietly.

Her question was answered with a loud snore. Madison quickly found the source as Mabel herself, passed out at the foot of the couch with a chisel in one hand and a rubber mallet in the other.

Madison smiled at the sight, walking into the room as quietly as she could and picked her sister up. Despite having not done any sports ever, Madison still had some muscles on her, so picking up her relatively lightweight twin wasn't that hard. Moving her sister to the couch, Madison put Mabel's head down on a pillow and threw a blanket over her.

Turning around, Madison gazed upon her sister's work. Each figure looked almost exactly like the person, or in Waddles' case, pig, they represented, right down to that weird tuft of hair that kept sticking up from the back of Mabel's head.

Quietly, Madison left the room and shut the door. As she turned, she came face to face with Stan.

Jumping back in surprise, the young Pines girl fell onto her butt.

"Jeez, Grunkle Stan! You're the one who's supposed to have a heart attack, not me!" she whispered aggressively.

"Sorry, kid. Just wanted to check on…" Stan started, but caught himself after Madison smiled at him. "the sculptures! I was gonna check on the sculptures to see how they turned out." He said, crossing his arms.

"She made them look like us. It's actually pretty impressive how accurate they are." Madison said with a smile.

A few moments of awkward silence passed. Stan cleared his throat. "So uh, lets get some breakfast." He said to his great niece. Madison nodded.

Madison finished eating her cereal and downed the rest of her coffee. She had started drinking it during finals week of Sophomore year. She put her mug and bowl into the sink, and went upstairs to change to her street clothes.

As she walked up the stairs, Mabel exited the art room. "Morning, sis!" she said happily.

"Morning, Mabel." Madison said, smiling at her twin.

"Hey, did you come into my art room last night?" Mabel asked.

"No, why?" Madison replied.

"Well, I distinctly remember passing out on the floor next to my work, and I woke up on the couch this morning. With a blanket and that one pillow I really like." Mabel answered.

"Oh! Yeah, I came to check on you this morning, cause usually you're snoring or trying to wake me up, and found you on the floor." Madison explained.

"Aww, thanks sis!" Mabel gave her twin a hug. Madison sniffed lightly.

"Is… is that gorilla glue in your hair?" she asked. Rather than give a straight answer, Mabel only giggled and released the hug, going downstairs to eat.

Madison shrugged and went up to the attic.

* * *

_That Night_

* * *

The day had gone by quickly. Mabel had once again shown off her creations to the town at the grand re-re-opening of the wax museum, and the people of Gravity Falls were eating it up. Probably because this time they actually got pizza with admission.

The figures were placed in the shop, each with their own name plate.

Currently, Madison and Mabel were getting ready for bed, each one back in their sleepwear. Madison was reading the newest book in the _Marty Boys_ mystery series while chewing on her fourth pen that evening, and Mabel was messing with Waddles' legs on her bed. "Oooh, I'm a dancing pig, yes I'm a dancing pig!" Mabel sang as she made Waddles dance.

There was a crash downstairs, causing the twins to jump slightly.

"W-what was that?" Mabel asked, hugging Waddles.

"I-it was probably just Grunkle Stan, knocking something over!" Madison reasoned shakily.

Happy with the answer, Mabel calmed down and laid down on her bed. "Welp, night sis!" she said as she turned off her lamp.

"Night, Mabes." Madison replied, turning her lamp off as well.

Several minutes went by, until another crash was heard.

"Alright, that's enough." Madison said, getting out of bed. She put on her slippers, and grabbed a baseball bat that she kept under her bed.

Mabel followed suit, putting on her own hamster slippers and grabbing her trusty grappling hook.

"Let's roll." Mabel said, putting on sunglasses out of nowhere. Madison looked at her, and giggled.

Making their way downstairs, Madison held her bat with both hands while Mabel held a flashlight. As they reached the bottom floor, Madison stepped on a piece of glass which cracked under her slipper.

"Careful, there's glass." Madison said back to her twin. Stepping over some of the larger bits, Madison made her way to the living room, Mabel on her tail the entire way.

"Maddie, look!" Mabel whispered, pointing the flashlight to the mounts that the wax figures stood on. Each one was empty.

"I told you they'd come to life!" Madison scolded quietly.

Mabel heard a pig squealing upstairs. "Waddles!" she gasped. Madison nodded, understanding.

"Go get Waddles. I'll take care of these guys." She said with hushed confidence.

"Are you sure?" Mabel asked. Madison nodded with a smile. "Thanks, sis!" Mabel said, rushing back upstairs to see if her pig was in trouble. Madison crept further into the living room.

To her left there was another crash, coming from Stan's room.

"Grunkle Stan!" Madison realized. Madison rushed to the room, only to find her Grunkle tied up with rope and gagged. Surrounding him were the wax figures of Stan, Ford, and the twins.

"Hey! Let my Grunkle go!" Madison yelled, gripping her bat tighter.

The twins watched in horror as all four of their heads turned 180 degrees, followed by their bodies.

"Well, well, well. Look what the pig dragged in." Wax-Madison said, laughing. Madison shuddered slightly at hearing her own voice coming from something other than herself. "If it isn't the lame, sad, real me." She taunted.

"Let him go, you freaky candle!" Madison repeated, shaking slightly as Wax-Stan pulled out a kitchen knife.

Wax-Mabel stepped up. "Or what, you're gonna bore us to death?" she laughed.

Madison growled. "Or else I'll… I'll…" she tried to come up with something.

"Or I'll… I'll… Come on, that the best you got?" Wax-Madison mocked. "You're nothing but a sad, lonely girl with nobody that loves her. Even your twin sister left you down here!"

"Th-that's not true! I have people that love me!" Madison argued.

"Like who? And don't just say your sister, because that'd just be sad." Wax-Madison retorted.

"My parents! A-and Grunkle Stan! And Great Uncle Ford!" Madison stammered.

"Family, family, and more family!" Wax-Ford replied.

"I-I… Wendy! I'm like a sister to her!" Madison tried.

"You honestly think she loves you? Even as a sister? She just feels bad for turning you down three years ago!" Wax-Mabel taunted.

Madison had heard enough. With a yell, she swung her bat as hard as she could at her own self.

The wax version of Madison blocked the strike easily with a hand.

"That's just pathetic." Wax-Madison said, cracking the bat in half.

Madison panicked. Stumbling backwards, she fell on her butt and scooted away. Slowly, the wax figures encroached on her. She scrambled back to the table, where she hit her head. Next to her, an axe fell onto the floor.

'_Wendy's axe!_' Madison realized, and picked up the steel blade. She stood back up, and faced the wax figures.

"Stay back!" she shouted, brandishing the axe in front of her.

"Or what, kid? You gonna embarrass yourself again?" Wax-Stan taunted.

Madison froze. She realized she was being backed into a corner. Her mind was going a mile a minute, overthinking the smallest details.

"MADDIE!" She heard a scream from her left. Mabel had returned, Waddles behind her. This helped snap Madison back to reality.

With a yell, Madison swung the axe, catching her wax-self in the wrist. The wax figure gasped, looking at her now stump left arm.

"Well! Looks like you've got some fight in you after all!" Wax-Maddie said with a smirk, grabbing a chair and swinging it at her real counterpart. As the chair was about to go over her head, Mabel shot her grappling hook straight through the wax figure's other arm, causing the chair to fall on top of her, accompanied by a triumphant scream of "GRAPPLING HOOK!".

Seeing her chance, Madison rolled under the legs of the possessed wax figures, using the underside of the axe to hook Wax-Maddie's leg and trip her to the floor. Quickly standing up and sidestepping Wax-Stan's knife, Madison took a hit from Wax-Ford straight to the stomach. Grunting, she fell to the ground in front of her twin.

Mabel gasped and knelt down to her sister. "Maddie, are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

Madison coughed and nodded, taking her sister's hand to help herself back up. She stared at the wax figures with a small fire in her eyes, gripping the axe tighter.

"Gotta hand it to ya kid, you're more durable than you look." Wax-Ford said while opening and closing his fist, smirk on his face.

"Bring it on, wax-lips. I've faced so much worse than you!" Madison retorted, determination written all over her face. She smirked as the wax figures charged at her.

At the last second, Madison threw her weight onto Mabel, causing the both of them to topple to the ground with synchronized grunts. As they hit the ground, a loud _zap_ was heard, and light filled the room.

Madison coughed from the light smoke that remained, and slowly opened her eyes. In front of her were three sets of legs, and a cowering Wax-Maddie in the corner. She didn't have to look to know who came to the twins' rescue.

"Thanks, Great Uncle Ford!" Madison shot a thumbs up to the man behind her as she stood up and rested the axe on her shoulder.

"Well, look's like you really _are_ me after all." Madison taunted the terrified wax replica of herself. "Cowering in a corner as soon as you lose support. Something I outgrew years ago."

"Sh-shut up! You're still a coward! I bet they don't even know that you like g-" Wax-Maddie attempted to retort, but was cut off by Madison herself swinging the axe through Wax-Maddie's head, silencing the haunted paraffin sculpture.

After a brief moment of silence, Madison turned around. "So, who wants to make some candles?" she joked. Mabel started to laugh, and even Ford chuckled a bit. They all stopped when they heard frantic muffled screams coming from Stan's office.

Walking calmly into the room, they found Wax-Waddles slowly eating money in front of Stan, destroying bill after bill. Tears were running down from Stan's face as he watching his hard(ly)-earned profit disappear. Ford leaned over and stuck something on the small sculpture, causing it to freeze in place.

"Woah, what did you do to him, Great Uncle Ford?" Madison asked, geeking out over the device.

"That, kids, is a special project I've been working on for 2 years. It seals away spirits or magic that possesses inanimate objects, like this wax." Ford said proudly. Madison started getting giddy about it, asking about specifics and how it worked, while Ford untied his brother.

After the family had a laugh about the night's events, they all went back to bed, another anomaly dealt with.


	6. Lakeside Scramble

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 6: Lakeside Scramble

* * *

It was a calm, sunny Saturday in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls. The trees were greener than ever, and the people of the town were walking about, taking care of their business for the day and talking with friends passing by.

Madison, however, chose to stay inside. Large crowds never really were her thing, after all. Instead she stayed at the Shack and read her newest choice of novel, a story about a city of people living underground. She hadn't even gotten dressed for the day, still in her pajamas and her hair an unkempt, clipped up mess.

She was surprised, then, when she heard a knock on the door.

_'Who in their right minds would willingly come to the Shack on a Saturday?'_ Madison thought to herself as she got up to answer the door, the excess of her baggy pajama pants pooling around her ankles.

Opening the door, Madison immediately regretted not getting dressed today. Staring right at her was none other than Pacifica Northwest, wearing a rather expensive-looking designer jacket.

"P-Pacifica?!" Madison asked, blushing. "What are you doing here?"

Pacifica giggled, making sure to keep the image of a blushing, messy-haired Madison in her memories. "Nice hair!" Pacifica laughed. "I was just walking around, not knowing what else to do, so why not come bother my favorite nerd and spaz?" she continued with a smile.

"Haha, very funny. Mabel's not here though, so it's just us for now." Madison said, still blushing lightly.

Madison let Pacifica in and let her hair out of the messy bird's nest it was in, letting it fall into its natural, wavy position. Sitting back down in her spot on the chair, Madison pulled out her own personal Journal.

"Wait, you have your own now?" Pacifica asked, curious.

"Yeah! I kept researching weird occurrences outside of Gravity Falls, and I've already got about a quarter of the book filled out!" she said with pride. She flipped to a certain page and showed Pacifica. "I've even got theories about a massive creature living in the bottom of the lake here!"

"Wait, really? We should totally go find it!" Pacifica suggested.

Madison was taken aback. She always had her sister on adventures like this. "I-I don't know, Paz, usually I have Mabel with me to keep me in check..." she said to her friend.

"Are you saying I'm not good enough?" Pacifica shot back with a smirk, hand on her hip.

"N-no! I'm not saying you're not good enough, it's just that..." Madison trailed off.

"Then what's the problem? I can help keep you going too, and I even have a nice boat we can take out to find it!" Pacifica encouraged, sounding excited to go on a monster hunt.

"A-are you sure? Won't your parents get mad?" Madison asked.

"Pffft, as if _I_ would care what they think. They're already mad about the tattoo, and I wanna have some fun." Pacifica shrugged.

"Alright then, I guess we're hunting that monster!" Madison finally said, enthusiasm filling her voice once again as she went towards the stairs. "Just let me get dressed first!" she called down. Pacifica giggled in response, shouting back a "Hurry up!".

A few minutes later, Madison rushed back down the stairs, now wearing shorts and a loose BABBA t-shirt, her signature cap resting on her head and a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. "Ready!" she called down as she hit the ground floor.

"Alright, let me just call for the boat to be taken to the lake, and we'll be good to go!" Pacifica said eagerly.

* * *

_Half an hour later_

* * *

Pacifica had called her butler, and a car quickly showed up to take them to the lake. Waiting for them there was Pacifica's boat.

As the two girls climbed into the boat, Madison slung her bag off her shoulders and onto the deck, opening it and pulling out a collapsible fishing rod.

Pacifica stared on in shock. "You... you're not seriously going to use _that_ to fish for a monster, are you?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, why?" Madison said back, almost as if it were a normal thing to do. Pacifica facepalmed.

"Look, Maddie, that tiny little thing isn't going to haul in anything from this lake, let alone a monster." Pacifica said.

"Then what are you using?" Madison asked.

Pacifica grinned and walked to a small room below deck, coming back up holding a bunch of long red sticks. She held one up and shook it, almost as if it were a trophy.

"Is... is that..." Madison deadpanned.

"Yep! I found an entire crate of this stuff sitting in that creepy sealed off room!" the blonde giggled. Madison's eyes went wide as Pacifica held a finger up, a small ember lit on the tip. She held the small flame next to the fuse, and it lit. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Pacifica screamed as she threw the explosive into the water. There was a small pause of nothing, and Madison shrunk into herself as she braced for the explosion.

Then, without any other warning, it went off.

The water pulsated, a massive pillar shooting up from the surface where the dynamite was thrown in. Pacifica started cackling like a madwoman.

"THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" she cheered, exhilarated by the show. She and her designer jacket were now soaking wet, having been leaning over the side just a bit to get a better look at the explosion, and her ears were ringing.

Turning to Madison with a huge grin, Pacifica helped Madison back on her feet. "Now THAT'S how you fish!" Pacifica said happily, still giggling.

Madison looked concerned, before she turned to a page in a smaller notebook she kept in her bag.

_'Note to self, Pacifica __**may**__ be a pyromaniac.'_ She wrote in on one of the blank pages.

Pacifica turned back to the lake, already holding another stick. This went on for about an hour.

* * *

Pacifica had already thrown maybe 3 dozen sticks into the lake, and the water was becoming clouded with disturbed silt and mud from the explosions.

As she was about to light another stick, something hit the boat, causing it to rock.

"Woah!" Pacifica exclaimed as she grabbed the handrail to keep from falling off. "Uh, Maddie? I think we have a problem!" she called for her friend, who had taken to sitting below deck to avoid getting wet.

Madison poked her head up from the stairs. "What did you do?!" she said loudly, having just been thrown to the floor by the rocking of the boat.

"I don't know!" Pacifica responded.

Suddenly, the girls heard a sound. It was like a whale, but higher pitched and very, very loud. Madison could see a shadow in the water.

"GET BACK!" Madison yelled, sprinting over to her friend.

Madison pulled Pacifica away from the railing just as a massive, spiked tail swept right over where Pacifica had been standing, destroying the railing and chewing up a bit of the side of the boat. Several deep scratches were left in the hull.

"I think you woke it up with the dynamite!" Madison said hurriedly as she started flipping through her journal. She landed on the page of the lake monster. She scribbled a few lines hastily and shut the book, putting it back in her bag.

Just as she did so, the monster rammed the boat again, and the chain tethering the anchor snapped. They started to drift towards Scuttlebutt Island. Fast.

"BRACE!" Madison shouted, pulling Pacifica back down to the floor just seconds before the boat rammed into the rocky shores of the misty island. The two teens were thrown off the boat and onto the soft sand behind the sharp rocks, each letting out a grunt of pain as they tumbled onto the ground.

Dazed, Pacifica pulled herself up and looked at the ruined boat. The crate of dynamite had somehow flown out of the boat and crashed onto the sand a fair distance away from her. Another wail was heard in the distance.

"Maddie, get up! I don't think that thing is done with us yet!" Pacifica said, panic in her voice as she shook her friend.

Madison groaned as Pacifica helped her up, shaking her head. Pacifica grabbed one of Madison's arms to pull her to her feet, when a sharp pain shot through her left shoulder. Madison let out a scream of pain, flinching away from Pacifica slightly.

"Shit, sorry!" Pacifica apologized hurriedly as she pulled Madison up completely.

"It's ok. Where's the monster?" Madison asked.

"Somewhere near us." Pacifica stated, hearing another wail from the lake.

Pacifica looked around, spotting the shattered crate of dynamite. Next to the scattered sticks was Madison's bag, and several books had spilled out onto the sand.

"I think we're safe for a few minutes until it figures out where we are." Madison said, holding her left arm up.

Another wail from the water drew Pacifica's attention again, and suddenly she felt dread pool in her stomach.

"Madison, get back." Pacifica said, acting on a feeling. Madison looked at her with a cocked head, confused. Pacifica's eyes went wide as she saw the shadow, moving faster than anything should ever be able to move. "MADDIE DUCK!" Pacifica shouted, but it was too late.

A large, black tongue shot out of the thick fog, wrapping around Madison and pulling her into the air. The muscle clenched around the young girl, putting immense pressure on her wounded shoulder, which Pacifica could see was now bleeding heavily. Madison let out a bloodcurdling scream as the injury was disturbed.

Pacifica's eyes hardened into anger. She could faintly see the outline of its head, about 10 feet off the shore. Sprinting over to the pile of items from the boat, she noticed a fairly familiar book cover among the books that had fallen out of Madison's bag. She bent down and picked up the book quickly, flipping through several random pages.

"HEY, UGLY! HOW ABOUT YOU GET A TASTE OF THIS!" Pacifica shouted in anger as the beast drew closer, revealing its head more clearly. It looked like a giant snake head, with feather-like fins at the nape of its neck. The long, black tongue was still wrapped tight around Madison, who was still giving small shouts of pain every now and then as the muscle tightened around her, crushing the life from her already damaged body.

Looking down at the book, Pacifica started chanting a spell. At first, nothing happened.

Pacifica panicked, chanting the spell a few more times, getting a bit louder and more stressed each time. Again, nothing.

With each passing second now the giant snake-beast drew Madison, unconscious from pain and blood loss, closer to its gaping jaws, ready to consume her whole.

Pacifica, not noticing the few tears now dripping from her eyes, screamed the words to the spell once more, and her entire right arm started to shine.

It felt warm, and Pacifica felt a new, yet familiar presence next to her as the light from her arm turned a brilliant emerald.

Wind rushed past her, screeching forward at the massive creature. It found home directly on its disgusting tongue, severing the muscle from its owner.

A white blur rushed forward and caught the now falling Madison, bringing her safely back to the shore.

Pacifica, now acting on instinct, threw her arm up in a cutting motion, and the wind followed her command. With a sharp, loud whistle, a large gash appeared over the monster's left eye. Pacifica noticed, and used the same motion in a diagonal, another gash forming on the side of the beast's neck. One final motion, straight down.

The wind shrieked as it concentrated into an almost visible edge, slamming down into the beast's heavily scaled back. Several of the heavy scales cracked, shattering in a glittering cloud. The beast gave out an equally loud shriek as it was forced down onto the shore, the blade of wind cutting deep into its flesh. Stunned, the beast stopped struggling for a moment.

Pacifica's spell ended, and she felt incredibly weak, as if she had just run an entire marathon with an anvil. Keeping strong and using as much willpower as possible, she stared straight into the beast's eyes.

"Don't. Touch. My. Friend." She growled threateningly between breaths. The beast gave out one final, quiet wail as it shrank back down into the depths of the lake. She sighed as she let go of her remaining strength. She collapsed to her knees on the sand.

Suddenly she remembered Madison's condition, and her head snapped over to the direction of her injured friend.

Slowly dragging herself over to where Madison was laying on the sand, Pacifica finally recognized the white blur from earlier.

"Jiyubih?" she asked slowly. The Wyvern nodded, almost smiling at her summoner.

"_You called out to me subconsciously, without using the spell. Well done."_ Jiyubih commended the girl through telepathy.

"Madison! Is she ok?" Pacifica asked, panic and concern lacing in her voice heavily.

Jiyubih nodded. "_She will be fine. Although she will need some medical attention rather soon if the bleeding does not slow."_

Pacifica cursed under her breath. She pulled out her own spellbook, having dropped the one Madison brought on the sand earlier.

She flipped through the pages, trying to find one of the spells she'd been practicing.

A small, white wing put itself between her eyes and the book.

"_Don't. If you try to cast anything right now, you'll be putting your life at risk. Even a ward spell would shorten your life at this point."_ The small dragon stated with concern.

"Wh-what?" Pacifica asked, confused.

"_You're in a state known as mana exhaustion. You've used all your reserves on that wind spell. If you try to cast magic now, you'll be using your own life force instead of mana."_ Jiyubih explained.

Pacifica slumped. She was helpless. Her best friend was bleeding out in front of her and there was nothing she could do. Hot tears began to fall from her cheeks.

"I... I…" Pacifica started, unable to speak clearly. Jiyubih settled on her shoulders.

"_It will be ok, little one. Her will is strong enough that she won't die here. I can sense her spirit fighting to hold on, a battle that won't end anytime soon."_ She reassured, comforting Pacifica.

After a minute or two, Pacifica calmed down. She started to remember the medical emergency tips she'd read online, and pulled her jacket off. Using what strength she had left, she bit into the fabric of the sleeve and pulled hard, ripping it clean off the torso. She then began to tear the fabric into long strips, setting them on the jacket so they wouldn't get sandy. After making a few, she got to work.

She spent what felt like an hour over her friend, when in reality it was over in just a few short minutes. She had wrapped Madison's shoulder tightly, not getting any protest from the unconscious girl. Several makeshift bandages were tied around the wound, soaking up blood like sponges and turning a dark crimson. Pacifica then looked at the wrecked boat, realizing that she had no way of getting off the island, with or without Madison.

Sighing in disappointment, Pacifica sat down and waitied.

"_What are you doing?"_ Jiyubih asked.

"Waiting." Pacifica said simply.

"_For…?"_

"Anything. Literally anything else to happen. I'm certain that someone saw us get launched to this island, so they're probably sending someone over right now. And if not, I can signal for help once I get some mana back." Pacifica explained curtly. Jiyubih nodded, understanding the situation better now.

A few minutes passed. Then a few more, and again a few more.

Pacifica was getting worried. Perhaps they _weren't_ seen when they were beached, and Madison hadn't done anything other than breathe since she bandaged her shoulder. Panic began to seep into her mind.

Panic that was immediately dispelled when she heard an extremely faint voice. She perked up, listening closely to her surroundings. Jiyubih dispelled herself, leaving the same tattoo on Pacifica's arm as she left.

"_-cifica! Madison!"_ she heard faintly, coming from what seemed to be another girl's voice. A very familiar voice…

"MABEL! WE'RE OVER HERE!" Pacifica yelled as loud as she could when she recognized Mabel's calls.

The shouting stopped, and Pacifica could've sworn she heard an engine revving.

Soon, a shadow appeared out on the lake in the fog, drawing closer. Pacifica stood up and waved them over, getting an energetic wave back from Mabel.

As soon as Mabel saw Madison, however…

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Mabel shrieked at the sight of her twin, still unconscious and one shoulder red with blood.

"Now's not the time, we need to get her some help!" Pacifica commanded. Mabel nodded with determination as she helped lift her sister into the boat. Pacifica grabbed all of Madison's things and put them into the bag, climbing into the vessel as well. Piloting it was a rather angry Wendy.

After reaching the shore, Madison was carted off into an ambulance, which had seemingly been waiting for them the whole time.

"Alright Northwest, explain!" Wendy said, rage in her voice.

"I-I can explain." Pacifica said, holding her hands up in defense.

"You better start, and fast!" Wendy threatened.

"Ok!" Pacifica squeaked, shrinking down. She explained the whole story.

"So, let's see if I got this straight." Wendy started. "You took Madison out on your boat, with dynamite, to find a giant lake-monster." Pacifica nodded. "And then, when you found it, it almost killed you and rammed you into the island." She nodded again. "And then you… did magic?" Wendy asked, still not sure if she had imagined that part.

"Y-yeah." Pacifica confirmed. "I learned I could do magic only two weeks ago, when I stayed at the Shack for a few days." She continued.

Wendy looked to Mable, who nodded. "She even got a fancy book from Great Uncle Ford." The hyperactive girl stated.

"Alright, I believe you." Wendy said after a moment, nodding. "Now let's get to the hospital. I don't think Mads wants to be alone when she wakes up." The lumberjack suggested with a smile.

* * *

_Three hours later_

* * *

The trio was joined by Soos, Ford, and Stan. A few hours had passed, and Madison had still not woken up after her treatment. Pacifica was worried, and Mabel was trying to comfort her.

"Paz, she'll be fine! She's done _way_ worse and still come out ok." She tried to convince the blonde, but Pacifica's worry was too strong.

The girl had been pacing for a while now, and one could almost see the tiny dip in the floor forming where her feet tracked a path. She stopped dead in her tracks when a nurse stepped into the room.

"Madison Pines?" the nurse asked. Everyone stood up and followed the nurse.

"Two at a time, we don't want to overwhelm her." The nurse instructed, getting a nod from everyone. Mabel and Pacifica went first.

Walking into the small room, the girls went right up to the bed where Madison was laying.

"Hey, Maddie!" Mabel said cheerily, getting a faint chuckle from the injured girl.

"Hey, sis." Madison replied. "Paz… I…" she started.

"No, don't. It's not your fault. I'm just…" Pacifica started tearing up. "I'm just glad you're alive." A few tears fell.

"Thank you, Pacifica." Madison smiled at her friend. "Really. You saved my life back there."

Pacifica returned the smile, wiping her eyes. "Like I'd let my best friend get eaten by a giant water snake." She chuckled. Madison giggled in return.

"How _did_ you chase it off, anyway?" Madison asked.

"I... uh… I guess I scared it after using a spell to hurt it a bit." Pacifica said. Madison nodded, then her eyes went wide.

"You didn't… you didn't use the book from _my_ bag, did you?" she asked.

"Y-yeah. Nothing I knew would do anything to it, so I had to do something new. I'm… surprised it actually worked." Pacifica admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Pacifica that's amazing!" Madison said in awe.

"W-what?" Pacifica stammered, taken aback.

"That book is all highly advanced magic! Great Uncle Ford gave it to me just to read up on spells and their effects, but you actually _used_ one!" Madison said.

Pacifica smiled and blushed, embarrassed over the sudden praise.

"Alright girls, time's up. Let some other guests here have their turn." The nurse said, poking her head in with a grin.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to leave. I'll come visit soon, ok?" Pacifica said, smiling at her friend. Madison nodded.

"See you later, Dipping-sauce!" Mabel cheered as she left the room comically, leaning to the side as much as possible so that her head was the last thing visible to Madison, earning a giggle.

"See you later, Mabes." She responded, still smiling.

The others took their turns talking with Madison, and soon the doctor came in to discharge Madison with a bunch of stitches in her shoulder. The Pines family went home to the Shack, and listened to Madison ramble on about her theories on the lake-monster.


	7. The Fight

Hidden in Plain Sight

* * *

Chapter 7: The Fight

* * *

**Warning: This chapter has hate-speech. These are not my views, and I am using this as a storytelling element, nothing more. I mean no offense to anyone with anything said in this chapter.**

* * *

_Three days later…_

* * *

The news was all over the incident. Madison should've expected as much, since Pacifica was involved. What tabloid _wouldn't_ want to get a scoop on how the Northwest girl was "saved once again by local hero Pines"? She wanted to take the summer slow, but fate apparently had other plans for the teenager.

Said girl was currently walking around the mall with Mabel, looking to get some new shirts, since several of hers had already been ruined, be it by paranormal encounter or her horrendous pen-chewing habit. Her shoulder hurt, and she could feel little itchy points where each stitch was holding her together. She hated the experience, but knew it was necessary.

Madison was also uncomfortable from the looks people were giving her, as if she were some kind of divine being. Mabel, however, just kept talking loudly like she normally did. Until a few people came up to Madison.

"H-hey, uh, Madison…" the nervous boy at the front started. "D-do you think I can get an autograph?" he asked, thrusting a pen towards her and a notepad.

"Uh..." Madison froze. She'd never been popular before, let alone actually famous. Madison awkwardly took the pen and signed her name on the paper. The boy looked ecstatic and thanked her before walking away with his group.

"Hmph. Look at you, little miss popular!" a snide yet familiar voice came from behind them. Madison turned around to find none other than Pacifica.

"Paz!" Mabel cheered, throwing her arms up.

"Hey Pacifica!" Madison greeted happily. The two hadn't really gotten a chance to see each other since the lake incident.

Pacifica gave the twins a tight hug, being extremely careful to avoid Madison's stitches. "How are you healing up, hero?" Pacifica asked, releasing the hug.

"_Pfft,_ if only the papers knew! They'd have a kick out of knowing what actually happened!" Madison laughed at the title.

"Well, you're gonna have to get used to being famous for a bit, because there's no way I'm telling everyone I'm magic." Pacifica smiled. "Anyway, that doesn't answer my question." She prodded with a finger.

"It's been going pretty good, actually. I barely even feel it sometimes." Madison answered.

"Well, at least _one_ of us is having a good recovery period…" Pacifica sulked.

"What's up?" Mabel asked.

"My parents. They didn't exactly take the news too well when I told them that the boat crashed on the island, much less that Madison was on the boat with me." She explained.

"So... what did they do?" Madison continued.

Pacifica sighed. "I've been banned from going to the Mystery Shack, taking vehicles from the garage, bribing any staff to let me take a vehicle, leaving town, and to top it all off they've put barbed wire on the fence, as _if_ I could jump that high!" Pacifica listed off.

"Jeez, I knew they were nuts, but barbed wire?" Madison responded.

"The only good thing is that they didn't take my phone, so I can still call you guys and plan a meetup." Pacifica smiled. Mabel cheered lightly at that, earning a small chuckle from the heiress.

Madison looked around, when an idea struck her. "Hey I have an idea!" she announced, catching the attention of the other two. "We could totally still go into the forest! It's within city limits, isn't it?" Madison offered.

Pacifica smiled. "I like your thinking, Mads." She replied. Mabel grabbed onto the two other girls.

"Yay! BFF forest trip!" she announced loudly.

* * *

Madison chuckled at her sister's antics, and the trio set off to the edge of town.

The three girls looked out into the forest, and Madison took the lead. "I think we should go that way." She said concisely, pointing in a specific direction.

"Uh, Mads? Isn't that the way to-" Mabel started, but was cut off by her twin.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mabel! I've never, _ever_ seen a _large wooden shack that may or may not be mysterious_ in that direction!" she responded in a not-so-subtle 'yes I know exactly what I'm doing' tone, ending it off with a wink.

"Ooooooooh! I get it!" Mabel announced. "Yep, there's nothing but _totally normal forest_ in that direction!" she winked back.

Pacifica burst out into laughter at the twin's antics. "Man, I missed you guys these last few years!" she said, putting her arms around their shoulders, again being careful of Madison's stitches.

As the group walked through the trees, an idea came to Pacifica. "Hey, Madison?" she started, getting the nerdy twin's attention. "Can I try something with your shoulder when we get there? I've been practicing a bit of healing magic at home, and I want to see if I can help at all." She said, feeling a bit guilty about getting her friend hurt with her careless throwing of explosives.

"S-sure? I mean, it can't hurt to try, right?" Madison smiled with her answer.

The rest of the walk was classic Pines twins' banter and jokes, with some added commentary from Pacifica.

When the trio got to the Shack, it was nearing the middle of the day. The sun hung almost directly overhead, casting shadows straight down. Heading inside, they were greeted by Stan and Ford watching the television.

"Hey Grunkle Stan, Great Uncle Ford!" Madison greeted. The two old men looked over, and Ford approached.

"Hey kiddo! Excellent, I see you brought Pacifica!" the old scientist exclaimed. He walked over to the girl and lifted her arm.

"Um… what are you doing?" Pacifica asked, completely lost.

"Your tattoo, it's changed! Just as I thought!" he said, dropping the arm. "Come with me, all of you." Ford lead the way back to his private study, this time much more well-lit and opened up substantially.

"I activated the expansion I had set up, if you were wondering." He explained. This earned a few nods. "Pacifica, would you mind calling your familiar?" he asked. Pacifica nodded.

Focusing her mind, she called out to her Wyvern friend. "Jiyubih!" she spoke with intent, and her arm started glowing. Moments later, the Wyvern appeared.

"_Hello, Pacifica. I don't sense you are in danger, so this must be important."_ The small dragon said.

"Yes, it is." Ford answered.

"_Oh. It's you._" Jiyubih said, seemingly angry at Ford.

"Yes, and I apologize for what I said to your kind last time I met one. But this really is important." Ford tried. The Wyvern nodded, accepting the explanation. The scientist turned to Pacifica. "From what Mabel has told me, as well as a few of the creatures I've made friends with over the years here, you experienced an extreme shift in mana on that island. You tapped into a pool within yourself that we hadn't seen before."

"W-what does that mean?" Pacifica looked lost once more.

"_It means you have much more potential than we thought, possibly the most that's been seen in centuries._" Jiyubih explained. Pacifica nodded, but still looked a bit confused.

"I want you to try something, Pacifica. If this works, then you have the potential to grow into an incredible sorcerer." Ford handed Pacifica an open book. The page it was turned to was an extremely advanced healing spell.

"This looks complicated…" Pacifica deadpanned.

"It is. This is an intermediate-level healing spell. I want you to try it out on Madison's shoulder!" Ford instructed with a smile.

"Jiyubih, a little help with this one?" Pacifica asked. The small white dragon nodded and coiled around Pacifica's arm, just like the tattoo, but with her head next to Pacifica's.

As Pacifica started reading the spell out loud, her hand started glowing a soft gold color as she held it over Madison's injury. Jiyubih concentrated on Pacifica's mana flow, keeping it in check as her own body glowed white faintly. As Pacifica spoke more of the spell, the glow became brighter and brighter…

Until Pacifica fell to her knees.

"Paz!" Mabel said, catching her friend before she collapsed entirely. The Northwest was panting heavily, frustration on her face. "What's wrong? Is something hurting?" Mabel asked quickly, concerned for her friend.

"No, I… I couldn't do it…" Pacifica said, disappointed with herself.

"_I think you should take a look at your friend if that's what you think, young one._" Jiyubih said calmly.

Lifting her head, Pacifica saw Madison, injured arm up in the air as if nothing was wrong. Madison was smiling brightly.

"You did it, Paz!" Mabel cheered, tackling her friend to the floor. Laughing, she got up.

Madison looked down to her friend, and offered a hand. Pacifica took it, and Madison pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks, Pacifica." She said gently.

"N-no problem!" Pacifica blushed. She was grateful that Madison couldn't see it. Pacifica didn't know it, but Madison also had a bit of a tint to her cheeks.

"Alright, alright, back upstairs!" Ford said excitedly. "Oh and Pacifica, you go ahead and keep that book! It's full of useful spells like cloth-mending and how to fabricate illusions!" Ford shooed them out of his study with a smile.

As the group came up to the main floor, Stan was waiting for them. "Madison, I think it's time we have a bit of a chat." Stan said, and Madison could tell this was something at least semi-serious, as Stan hadn't called her 'brat' or 'squirt'. Madison nodded and followed him to the table, with the other two staying a little close, watching TV in the living room.

"Look, Maddie, you're getting to be a wonderful young adult. I've seen you grow up since you were 12, and it's been a fun ride. But you need to… get out there." Stan suggested.

"_*__**Cough cough***_What?!" Madison choked a bit on her glass of water.

"I'm just saying, maybe it's time you started… you know, talking to boys!" Stan argued. "You're always holed up in the attic, or nose-deep in those journals. You're not gonna have any kind of social skills and that's the biggest part of getting someone to be your husband."

"S-Stan, I'm really glad you're thinking about my future and all, but two things." Madison started, chuckling a bit. "Number one, I'm only 15! I think I have a while before that becomes an actual problem."

"Uh-huh, and number two?" Stan asked.

"Number two… *Sigh* well I didn't want to tell you like this, but…" Madison started, and Mabel was listening silently from the other room, knowing what was coming next.

"Stan, I'm a lesbian. I don't _want_ a husband." She smiled at her Grunkle.

Madison watched as Stan's face grew into confusion. She felt as if something bad was about to happen.

"Le-les-bee-in?" Stan pronounced the word as if it were some exotic dish. "What is that, some kind of religion?" he asked.

Madison felt a pit in her stomach. Mabel heard Stan's response and shuffled closer, and Pacifica blushed a bit at the new information.

"Stan… that means I like girls. You know, gay?" Madison tried.

"G-gay?!" Stan's face turned to one of slight horror. "B-but, you can't be! Your parents know better than that! _You_ know better than that!" Stan grew a bit angry.

"Grunkle Stan, what are you talking about?" Mabel chimed in. "Our parents are totally cool with it, why are you making this such a big deal?" she asked.

"Shermie would never raise people who would raise a gay! He'd be rolling in his grave!" Stan argued.

"G-grunkle Stan, why are you saying that?" Madison looked hurt.

"Because it's wrong! It's totally against nature! You're a freak!" Stan yelled, fully angry now.

Madison flinched, and her eyes went wide. She cowered away from the large man.

"_My_nephew would _**never**_raise some… some dirty _fag_!" Stan shouted.

That was the final nail in the coffin.

"YOU DON'T KNOW **ANYTHING** ABOUT MY PARENTS!" Madison screamed, knocking over a chair as she sprinted out of the house, tears now streaming down her face.

"Maddie, wait!" Mabel tried, but she was shoved aside just like the chair.

Pacifica didn't try to stop her, but instead sprinted right after her.

"Stanley… what have you done?" Ford asked in shock, having come up the stairs from the basement at the first signs of shouting. He helped Mabel up, who was also in tears now.

Ford attempted to comfort his great-niece, who turned to Stan with hatred in her eyes.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Mabel attacked, screaming at the old, bigoted man. He was taken aback; two kids having screamed at him.

"Me?! What's wrong is her attitude! She's confused, and she'll come ar-" he tried to argue, but Mabel cut him off. With a slap in the face.

The smack reverberated around the house. Even Waddles, who was two floors up in the attic, heard it.

"FUCK YOU! You think you're so high and mighty, that everyone should conform to what YOU think, but LOOK WHAT THAT GOT YOU!" Mabel continued to scream, her throat protesting. "ARE YOU _**HAPPY NOW?!**_"

* * *

Meanwhile, Pacifica was chasing Madison through the forest.

Ducking and weaving, Pacifica was barely able to keep up with the Pines girl. She had heard that Madison had taken up track, but this was ridiculous!

She wanted so badly to just call out to Madison, for her to turn around and tackle Pacifica in a hug, but she knew she wouldn't listen. Madison would never listen when she was like this.

She'd been chasing Madison for a good 10 minutes, neither girl showing any signs of slowing down, when they started hitting the fallen trees.

'_Well, fuck.'_ Pacifica thought. She'd also heard that Madison was becoming the star hurdles runner for her school.

Pacifica's fears were proven true, as she attempted to follow Madison over a particularly large fallen tree, and caught her back foot on the thick stump. With a quick shout of surprise, she faceplanted into the leaves and grass underfoot. She looked up to see Madison disappear into the wilds.

Madison didn't even notice Pacifica had fallen, so she kept running. She had no idea when or where she would stop. Hell, she didn't know if she ever _wanted_ to stop. She'd been betrayed by her own family, and the cut ran deep, so she just kept running.

She ran until her legs screamed for her to stop, until her lungs were exploding with pain. As she looked around, she was in a part of the forest she recognized. She was about four miles from the Shack, so she must have been running for a good 20 minutes.

As she stopped running, her thoughts caught up with her. The pain hit her anew, but this time right in her heart. She had loved her Grunkle Stan, and would've (and has done so in the past) trusted him with her life. And he crushed that trust under his foot like a disgusting bug.

Madison did the only thing she could think of; she put her hands on her knees, took a massive breath…

And screamed.

It was an extremely angered scream, lasting a good five seconds, with her eyes screwed shut as tightly as she possibly could. The birds and animals in the surrounding forest either fled immediately or stood still for a few moments.

When she had finished, she collapsed onto the ground and started sobbing, now with the added pain of an extremely sore throat. She curled into a pathetic little ball on the grassy forest floor. All of her anger and pain hit its peak, and she shattered under the pressure.

She cried until her eyes hurt. She must've been sobbing insanely hard, because she never even noticed the second body in the clearing pull her into a hug and start stroking her hair comfortingly. She simply clung to this unknown person for dear life, as if they were the only thing keeping her anchored to the realm of the living.

"Shh, it's ok Maddie." The person cooed, pulling her a bit tighter into the hug. Madison recognized the feminine voice, but her raging emotions kept her from placing the voice to a name. She just couldn't stop crying.

They sat there for god knows how long. Madison didn't care anymore. She couldn't bring herself to care about anything else at the moment, either. All she could to was continue to break down there in this woman's arms as they rubbed circles into her back.

When Madison was finally able to get some kind of grasp on reality, she started to calm down. The person holding her noticed, and encouraged her.

"There you go, everything's gonna be ok. I've got you." The mystery girl said gently.

Madison finally remembered several years of her life.

"Thanks, Pacifica." Madison spoke, words broken by several hiccupping sobs and clung just a little tighter to her best friend.

"Don't worry about it." Pacifica continued to calm her friend down.

It took a few minutes, but Madison was finally able to let go of Pacifica without feeling like she would slip away from reality. As the came apart, Pacifica kept a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you gonna be ok now?" the blonde asked. Madison nodded, wiping her eyes a bit.

"Sorry for soaking your shirt…" Madison apologized, sniffling.

"Madison…" Pacifica started, lifting the girl's head by the chin to meet her eyes. "I don't care about the shirt. I'm just glad I caught up to you." Pacifica smiled.

Madison didn't react the way Pacifica thought she would. Pacifica expected a smile and a gently hug. Instead, Madison just started crying again.

It wasn't the same as before; this time it was quieter. Pacifica went back to rubbing Madison's back.

After another minute, Madison calmed down again.

"You good now?" Pacifica chuckled. Madison scoffed and smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'm done this time." She nodded. "So, how did you even find me? You probably lost me in the woods quite a while ago…"

"Oh, that's easy. You screamed." Pacifica half-joked. "Also this is the same clearing you showed me when we first discovered I was magic, so I thought this would be as good as any place to start looking." She answered truthfully. "Really though, I heard that scream from like a mile away. Is your throat feeling ok?"

"It's a little sore, but I'll be fine." Madison said. The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"Why did you chase me?" Madison asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Pacifica looked confused. She put a hand to her chin and thought about it. "I guess… I guess I just had this feeling that I needed to. A feeling that if I didn't, I wouldn't see you for a few days, and I couldn't bear to have that happen after all of that." Pacifica answered. Madison nodded.

The two continued to talk for quite a while, until the sun started going down.

"Man, we've been out here for a while, huh?" Pacifica asked as the shadows started to cover the clearing.

"We should probably head back…" Madison said apprehensively.

"Hey, if you don't want to, I can find you somewhere in town. I can get you a really nice hotel room." Pacifica offered. "You don't have to go home tonight."

"Thanks, that really does mean a lot, but I think I need to talk with my sister about a few things." Madison smiled.

"Ok, well I'm coming with you then." Pacifica said, standing up and holding a hand down to Madison.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Madison asked.

"Do I look like I give a rat's ass about what my parents think anymore?" Pacifica asked, gesturing to her entirely ruined summer dress and her hair, which at this point had several small sticks in it. Madison laughed and shook her head, taking Pacifica's hand and getting up from the forest floor.

Both girls started walking back to the S hack, side by side.

* * *

_Back at the Shack_

* * *

Mabel had been waiting for seven hours now. Seven hours of not knowing where her sister was, or what had even happened to her. One hour of screaming at Stan, half an hour of crying, two hours of sweater town, another half-hour of sitting in bed waiting, and three hours of listening to Ford and Stan yelling at each other through the closed door of Stan's office.

She had been waiting for so long that she considered calling the police to file a missing person's report, but she knew they didn't take those seriously until after 24 hours. So she waited even more.

Finally, after so much waiting, the front door of the Shack opened. Standing in the doorway was her sister and Pacifica.

"Maddie!" Mabel exclaimed and ran to her sister. Madison caught her in a hug.

"Hey Mabel. Sorry for scaring you like that…" Madison apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're back safe." Mabel comforted, squeezing her sister a bit before letting go.

The door to Stan's office opened not long after Madison came back.

The man himself walked out of the room first, head hung low and eyes hidden from the rest of the occupants of the house. Instead of saying anything, he simply sat down at the table in the kitchen and did nothing.

Ford walked out of the room next, and walked over to Madison. He pulled her into a hug.

"Madison, I'm terribly sorry for what Stanley said to you. You didn't deserve that, and I've let him know full well that he was in the wrong." Ford said gently.

"Thanks, Great Uncle Ford." Madison smiled, returning the hug. The two separated, and Madison turned to her other Great Uncle. She looked up to Ford for confirmation, and he nodded.

Slowly, Madison approached Stan. The old man didn't look up to see her.

"I know what you wanna say, kid, and you're right." Stan started, still not looking up. "I'm garbage. I'm a terrible person, and I've been a horrible Grunkle. Even three years ago, all I ever did was push you around. I treated you like you were employees, not family. What kind of family am I, anyway? Insulting you just because you're different." Stan finished, and was surprised when Madison hugged him. "What? Hey, kid, didn't you hear what I said?"

"I heard you, Grunkle Stan, and I forgive you. What you said was wrong, and it hurt a lot, but you're still family." Madison said, slightly muffled by her Grunkle's shoulder.

"I…" Stan started, tearing up. "I'm sorry, kid. I promise I'll do better." Stan blubbered as he returned the hug and a few tears fell from his face.

As Mabel and Ford watched with smiles on their faces, Pacifica suddenly pulled Mabel outside.

"Mabel, I have a problem." Pacifica said urgently.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Mabel asked, confused.

"I… uh… how do I say this…" Pacifica tried to find the words. "It's… really embarrassing…"

"Just say it, ya dummy!" Mabel bopped Pacifica on the shoulder playfully.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Pacifica spoke.

"I'vehadacrushonyoursisterforthreeyearsandIhavenoideahowtotellherandnowIthinkImesseditupbywaitingtoolong!" Pacifica said in one breath, a furious blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Woah there, cowgirl, slow down!" Mabel chuckled.

"I'm not saying it again!" Pacifica shot back, red as a tomato.

"Alright, so you have a crush on Maddie! That's great!" Mabel comforted.

"No, it's not! My parents would _kill_ me if they found out I liked girls! They aren't like your Great Uncle; they won't accept it!" Pacifica said.

"Are you sure they wouldn't like… disown you or something instead of killing you?" Mabel asked.

"Yes! I'm their only child, the only person who can carry on their name! They'd _never_ let this be part of Northwest history!" Pacifica looked as if she were about to cry.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok. We're here for ya, and you can always crash here at the Shack if you feel unsafe!" Mabel offered, pulling her friend in for a hug.

"Thanks, Mabel, but I don't want to put your family in danger too." Pacifica said, shaking her head and returning the hug.

"Paz, Paz, Paz. You know we don't care about that stuff! Ain't nothin' gonna keep the Pines family down!" Mabel said triumphantly, bright smile on her face. Pacifica giggled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Thanks, Mabel, I really needed the assurance." Pacifica said warmly into Mabel's shoulder.

And quickly jumped back with a squeak when Madison popped up out of the blue with a "hey guys". Madison giggled at her friend's reaction.

"Stan wanted me to tell you guys that there's cake, free for all serving." Madison leaned closer to Pacifica, and with a fake whisper tone that Mabel could still obviously hear, said "I think you might want to get there before Mabel does, last time we did this nobody got anything."

Mabel laughed and pushed her twin sister, who started laughing in turn. Pacifica, now blushing from having Madison so close, giggled at the two and made her way back inside.

After that day, she knew she'd always have the support to do what needed to be done next.


End file.
